I'm Back

I have been thinking lately about what Republicans and Democrats get wrong. I will use Republican and Democrat as shorthand for errors more common in the mainstream of the respective US political parties whether politician or rank-and-file party member.

Republicans: Market failures do exist. For example, many industries pollute the environment. Negative externalities should be taxed or property rights should be created and those that can abate pollution least expensively will do so. Basically, you should not get to pollute and externalize all those costs on everyone else even if it is good for a particular industry or "creates jobs".

Democrats: A price you do not like is not a market failure. Gas prices too high, somebody must be gouging whatever that means. Of course, we need to have rent controls to protect those poor tenants. In most cases there was not a market failure to begin with and the "cure" causes the disease.

I have a few more brewing for the Democrats, Republicans, and maybe even a few aimed at Ron Paul and his supporters.