Everybody wants to save the earth, nobody wants to help mom do the dishes.  --P.J. O'Rourke

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Moral Hazard

As an Economics major I have always been interested in the Freakonomics types of questions. To give you an example, not many of us are having any major problem with government handouts to the banks. I think we all understand that the economy overall is better served by supporting the banks so that they can continue to lend. But despite clear evidence suggesting that it is more cost beneficial to pay for an apartment for a homeless person to live in than to let them continue on the streets,this is still wildly un-popular. Why is this? Is it just me?

1 comment:

  1. See: cognitive dissonance, NIMBY, and re-visit the concept of 'them' as a unit.

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