Michael Lissack president the ability to reject specific projects such and force Congress to debate and try to override his action? If a two-third majority of both houses wanted a project and was willing to vote on it in the open, fine, they could have it. Today, the president's only choice is to sign or veto an entire spend- ing bill, so he almost always signs. Why do we subsidize wealthy farmers? Why do we spend millions on mohair, wool and milk subsidies? Why do we allow truly wealthy people to collect Social Security free of taxes? Why are our military retired allowed to double dip? Why because the information that would allow these programs to be changed is made obtuse. In the haze, politics not wisdom rules. Just what kind of a system is this? Very simply, a system that is rigged by members of Congress and the executive branch. A system that caters to the demands of special-interest groups at the expense of all Americans. A system that responds to the appeals of the powerful and influential and ignores the needs of the powerless. A system that thrives on cutting deals and rewarding the privileged. A system that permits those in office to take care of themselves and their friends. Government programs suffer from incentive problems. Government officials seek to expand their budgets and authority by delivering short term benefits to special interest groups. Because they do not own the resources they manage, these officials are unlikely to manage them for maximum asset value. The special interest groups who stand to benefit most from changes in government policy are the renters of natural resources or people who are getting free use of unowned resources such as air and water. They lobby for short-term subsidies and continued free use and against investments in long-term asset management and determining property rights. Too often, they get what they want. Government programs tend to avoid easily gathered information like pricing. Prices serve several valuable functions, which apply to the public sector's services as well as to those of the private sector. Besides produc- ing revenues to pay the costs of the operation (and thereby avoiding un- fairly charging nonusers), a price serves to ration demand so as to prevent
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