Pooling Our Money
It’s Another Word For Tax
Dave Winer:
In the US we always try to make everything fit into a market. But some things resist that treatment. For example, if it were to snow two feet tonight in NYC, how would you treat that with market economics? When I go out my front door, would I have to contract with a shoveler to clear a path for me to the subway? But if I did that, the people following me would get the same service for free. So the natural thing is to pool our money and pay a shoveler to clear a path for all of us. That way each of us pays a fraction of what it costs. You can see where this is going. Pooling our money is another word for tax. It’s been given a bad name by persistent marketing, but it’s still a good idea, and for natural events like snowstorms, any other approach is basically unworkable.
Nothing more to add.