Concepts

There are quite a few important economic concepts which provide support for the idea of allowing people to choose where their taxes go.  This page will function as an index of some of these key concepts.

Each concept will be linked to its dedicated page where you will be able to find a PDF file with more or less relevant quotes and passages that I've collected from various sources.  Hopefully these PDF files will be a useful resource for anybody who's interested in learning about the economics of pragmatarianism.

Over time I'll add concepts and links to this page so it will probably always be a work in progress.

Key Concepts

Drive - Every organism has a biological imperative to choose the most valuable option (MVO).  This nameless imperative compels every single one of us try and get the most bang for our buck.

OpCost - Choosing the MVO requires the sacrifice of alternative options.  These alternatives that are sacrificed are the true cost of every option.  In economics this true cost is referred to as the opportunity cost.  This concept is conveyed by the common expression that you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Louder - This concept, which doesn't have a name, is embodied in a few common expressions... actions speak louder than words, put your money where your mouth is and talk is cheap.  Actions, unlike words, have an opportunity cost which is why they convey far more accurate information regarding people's preferences/priorities.

Signal - When people put their own money where their mouth is it creates an accurate value signal.  The brighter this signal, the more entrepreneurs it will attract.  If we want society's creativity, talent and intelligence to be efficiently allocated then it's imperative that we prevent these signals from being distorted.  In other words, messing with these signals in any way will ensure that society's limited resources will not be put to their most valuable uses.

Earner - Allowing a small group of impersonal shoppers (chosen by votes/words) rather than millions and millions of earners (chosen by spending/actions) to allocate taxes produces massively distorted value signals.  Allowing taxpayers to choose where their taxes go would eliminate these distortions.

Builderism - This is where better options come from.