Against subsidy

From CroziervisionWiki

Author: Patrick Crozier
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Under the heading subsidy I include contracting out (sometimes, incorrectly, called "privatisation"), where the state subcontracts to a private body. For example, currently the (British) state contracts out the running of trains.

I am against subsidy because:

Questions

Why doesn't subsidy work?

  • Partly because the enterprise concerned ceases to focus on what the customer wants and instead on what the government wants. Partly because subsidised enterprises have the state over a barrel. When the state decides to subsidise something it is essentially saying that: "this enterprise is essential." Therefore, the state gets itself into a situation where it cannot allow the enterprise to fail. Because they have the state over a barrel they have no particular incentive to manage their businesses efficiently. One consequence is a rise in absenteeism. Here is an example.

This is a stub and will be expanded later (I hope). Please feel free to suggest improvements.

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