Theft at the Public Till
setting up programs. Soon officials promulgating action were taking steps not contemplated, and officially rejected, by legislative decision makers. The rules they write and implement do not reflect the public consensus achieved through the reporting of a crisis - but instead reveal the need for detail and firm purpose. To be sure, the policy remains on the books and continues to define a source of authority and funding for bureaucrats to use. Official activities continue to be undertaken in its name. But now the purposes to which it’s put are not the ones involved in its creation. Slowly the policy is co-opted, the media loses interest, the general public no longer cares or is perceived to care and some special interest takes over. Another unintended redistribution accomplished. Rauch’s Demosclerosis is clear on this point: “Redistributive programs are in use everywhere, and should be. Aid to the unemployed provides security against the most bruising trauma of capitalism; aid to the elderly gives security in old age. Aid to farmers can help maintain a base of food production. Aid to veterans repays a public debt to those who serve. All of those goals are worthy, and all of those pro- grams serve real social purposes. The problem is understanding and then minimizing the programs’ cumulative side effects, which turn out to be both nasty and inherent.” “By definition, government’s power to solve problems comes from its ability to reassign resources, whether by taxing, spending, regulating, or simply passing laws. But that very ability energizes countless investors and entrepreneurs and ordinary Americans to go digging for gold by lobbying government. In time, a large, sophisticated, professionalized, and to a con- siderable extent self-serving industry emerges and then assumes a life of its own. This industry is a drain on the productive economy, and there appears to be no natural limit to its growth. As it grows, the steady accumulation of subsidies and benefits, each defended in perpetuity by a professional interest group, calcifies government. Government loses its capacity to experiment and so becomes more and more prone to failure.” “’The greatest goodies for the greatest number’ is how a wag once de- scribed the time-honored principle underlying American politics. When
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