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inglor_cztoday at 9:14 AM1 replyview on HN

Every special interest will claim that "give more money to us" leads to better societal outcomes.


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joe_mambatoday at 10:14 AM

This. I've never met anyone in any setting that complained about receiving too much money.

If you ask pensioners if they should get higher pensions, they'll say YES. If you ask students if they should get more subsidies, they'll say YES. If you ask unemployed people if they should raise unemployment benefits, they'll say YES. If you ask people on minimum wage if they should raise the minimum wage, they'll say YES.

Everyone is quick to be very generous when it's from other peoples' money without accounting for the second order effects of those decisions, which is especially a big problem of the extended welfare state, since everyone pays taxes and so then everyone wants more and more subsidies so they can feel they're getting their money's worth out of the system, or else they feel cheated.

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