Taxes and economics, a little rant

[Pobeka]

I was in the store today, and noticed this guy with
a crate of bottled water. So, I thought to myself:

"How stupid is this world?. Here we are, buying bottles of water at outrageous prices, transporting water on trucks, rather than paying a little extra to prevent ground water pollution, and ensure safe clean water for the tap. (Please note I live in Tacoma, WA with what used to be some of the best quality water in the continental USA.) This is anti-tax mentality gone to the level of complete and utter insanity. It's sooooo much cheaper for each citizen to chip in a tiny fraction in taxes rather than buy bottled water or water filters because we don't like what comes from the tap.

And how about policing ourselves? Police have been stretched thin for decades now. What's the solution our society has? -- home security systems. If everyone who felt it necessary to get a home security system had instead spent half that amount of money in taxes for a municipal police force, then the police could actually have enough people to track down and prevent common theft. As it is police can only focus on violent crimes."

Done with my rant. What other services are economically best served by a little taxation rather than direct expenses?

[BushHasGotToGo]

1. I am actually studying game theory for my test right now

Pretty much what benefits the community as a whole may not benefit each individual person (taken as a sum of the entire population)

I don't know if you understood what I said, because I kinda don't. Maybe somebody could clear my thoughts up.

[Pobeka]

6. But you need to think about fixed costs

Do you really believe trucking water around is cheaper than having appear at the tap?

[rogerashton]

9. You are doing OK --

that's the idea of the generalized Prisoner's Dilemma you are describing, and you have it down OK. The feeling of understanding will come with time and practice.

Game Theory Teacher --- rogerashton

[sandnsea]

11. but isn't it always better to benefit the community?

I thought the essence of game theory is that doing what's best for the community is best for the individual? Or am I mixing up Nash and game theory?

Itty bitty words please, I'm not anywhere near being able to carry on a discussion at your level.

[bahrbearian]

2. I wish I had Tacoma water!

I live in outside Enumclaw about 100' from the Tacoma water line from Chester Morse Water shed. I can't drink our Water which comes from a city Well about 100' from me. We have some much ground contaminents, and other crap that we drink Bottled water.

[chesley]

3. I am not sure

that more police will do any good if the criminals are freed soon after they are caught. However, more money spent on the police ( more professional, better equiped, etc.) can't be all bad.

[Pobeka]

4. Then perhaps a little tax money towards prisons would help.

n/t

[chesley]

5. How about some

hard-ass judges and clear thinking appeals courts??

[Pobeka]

7. But I think your point about criminals being released is valid

Because if prisons are over-crowded, they start releasing the least dangerous to society. Hard-assed judges won't solve that, in fact, it'd be more expensive potentially, because we have to constantly re-try people for more offenses that never would have happened if we could just keep them in jail.

[chesley]

8. I have absolutely

no objections to spending tax money on prisons.

[jafap]

15. a couple books you should read

The Fall of the Prison
A Time to Die

If you think that more prisons are going to be the answer to anything. You might also want to consider that a murderer like JR Bush and a thief like Ken Lay are never going to be prosecuted.

[rogerashton]

10. There are some activities that ought to be decriminalized

or punished only with fines. We have way too many people in prison. A real full employment policy would help, too -- to some extent, prisons are a warehouse for chronically unemployed males.

[Pobeka]

12. yep that too.

So, ... is it cheaper to pay people to do honest work for the government -- say improving infrastructure, supporting infrastructure, rather than pay for them to be in prison? I don't know, a few guards can guard a lot of prisoners ???

[jafap]

16. Fines are very disciminatory

If Curt Warner gets a speeding ticket, he can laugh at a $50 fine and increased insurance costs. It is a much harsher penalty for me. Maybe if fines were set proportional to last years income, then police would have an incentive to ticket rich people instead of engaging in "poverty profiling".
Otherwise I am very much in agreement with what you said. Prisons are also a place where you can pay American men third world wages.

[Buzzcook]

13. Well we have another trade off there

By not spending a lesser amount on schools and services for children and young people, we end up spending more on prisons.

Kind of a bind though, because prisons are much more satisfying to build than schools. The gratification from building prisons is instant for schools we don't see the direct benefit because it is so diffuse.

Buzzcook

[Pobeka]

14. Oh sheesh

<sarcasm>
You're not going to start quoting numbers about how educated people don't commit crimes?
</sarcasm>

<leadfoilhat>
But, then if we educated the people, how could someone like Bush ever get elected?
</leadfoilhat>

:evilgrin:

[jafap]

17. considering how much of your tapwater is not drunk

excessive purification is a little bit of a waste. Alot of what is being removed is just minerals, and why bother for water which is just going to be flushed down a toilet or put onto a lawn. It would be more economical to just buy a water-filter for your tap for your drinking water and washing water.

[GOPBasher]

18. That's liberalism in a nutshell.

If we all work together, we'll all be better off. :bounce:

[Pobeka]

19. I guess I don't call that liberalism

I just call it common sense. And I wonder why the guy paying for the water bottles at what must be about 100 times the price he could be getting from the tap doesn't recognize it either. :shrug:

[TahitiNut]

20. Public penny wise, private pound foolish.

:shrug: