Reply to Jeffrey Sachs

Here was my comment on Jeffrey Sachs's article A New Direction for American Economic Policy ...

Take money from Bill Gates and give it to politician­s to spend!? Let's skip the middlemen! Gates and the other 1% should directly allocate their individual taxes among the various government organizati­ons at anytime throughout the year

While we're at it...why not let Sachs put his taxes where his mouth is? If what he's saying has merit...th­en wouldn't Gates and company follow Sachs's advice if they were given the choice? Heck, why not let all taxpayers directly allocate their taxes?

Forcing taxpayers to consider the opportunit­y costs of their individual tax allocation decisions is the only way to ensure the best possible use of limited resources. In other words, the invisible hand is always more effective than planners at efficientl­y allocating resources.

We solved the free-rider problem long ago by forcing people to pay taxes...no­w we just need to solve the inefficien­cy problem by allowing taxpayers to choose how to spend their taxes.

Imagine how inefficien­t the outcome would be if we all had to purchase the same private goods? Yet, everybody thinks it's perfectly natural that we're all forced to purchase the same public goods. The result? Hyperparti­san obstructio­nism.

Besides, why should people feel a cold prickle when they pay taxes? If we allow them to choose how to spend their taxes then they'll feel a warm glow. It should feel good to contribute to the common good!

Yup, pragmatari­anism is the best long term solution to these problems.