“Violent criminals, long-term welfare recipients, the chronically sick, and politicians”

Posted by Marc Hodak on September 17, 2009 under Economics | Be the First to Comment

What do these people have in common?  According to Bryan Caplan:

Check whether the marginal human is, over his entire lifetime, self-supporting in present value terms.  A small fraction of people – such as violent criminals, long-term welfare recipients, the chronically sick, and politicians – probably don’t pass this test.  But even people who earn minimum wage probably do.

Unfortunately, “present value” is a term that is alien to most people, which makes them more likely to fall for the value-destroying programs of the politicians.

Caplan’s wit may have been inspired by Mel Brooks