Theft at the Public Till
• Don't give without demanding. Does a program give some thing for nothing? Then take a dim view of it, unless it serves children or the poor. Instead, favor programs whose costs are covered in some substantial share by the people enjoying the benefits. The whole idea behind transfer-seeking is to capture benefits at cost to someone else, and so a good way to discourage transfer-seekers is to make them pay for more of what they get, either in money or in public service. • Don't do things just because they seem nice. Is the main justifica- tion for a program sentimental? Does a program 'protect a way of life' (agriculture subsidies) or' save a treasured institution' (Amtrak passenger-train subsidies, Small Business Administration subsi- dies) or just seem like a nice thing to do (arts subsidies)? That's not a reason to fund it. Chances are, either the program is subsidizing goods or services that would have been available anyway (there was no shortage of art in America before the National Endowment for the Arts came along), or else the program is fundamentally reac- tionary in character, keeping alive that which adaptation decrees should die. • When in doubt, do without. Remember, saying yes to organized groups usually seems harmless in the short run, but the paralysis that you feed by saying -yes is devastating in the long run. Even in- expensive subsidies become havens for thousands of beneficiaries, whose entrenchment compounds paralysis. Arts subsidies become the property of regional arts-council administrators and grant-wise artists, who join up to become a permanent national lobby. To break the debilitating cycle, one must behave like a disciplined dieter: never say yes to anything just because it's small. • Always apply the scratch test. No matter what the program is, ask of it: If the program didn't already exist, would we start it from scratch? If the answer is no, whet the ax. By making room for adaptation and unloading an overburdened system, you make government likelier to work.
255
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online