Why doesn't the gov't legislate what people buy with food stamps?

[Hauldren Collider]

Why the **** not? I have always despised drugs. The only thing is that I have always been a proponent of education and shorter sentences for drug dealers and stricter penalties for users. The dealers are only finding a way to profit from an established horrible situation brought on by the demand for drugs. You have to strike at the demand not the supply to get rid of the drug situation.

Speer you are not grasping the concept of supply and demand. You can certainly strike at both. By decreasing supply you drive up price, decreasing demand. And you can discourage consumption, which would tend to drop the price however these two forces need not cancel each other once you pile on enough disincentives and sufficiently cut down on supply.

[Hauldren Collider]

Huh? You're a fringe radical. You don't represent economists. Most economists recognize that a government is needed to correct what individuals screw up and to keep the economy functioning properly.

We define value in a sense such that the individual by definition knows PRECISELY how valuable something is (given no disparity in information). Therefore it is impossible for the government to be able to know what is more valuable to you. The government serves to eliminate the disparity in information--read: prevent fraud, theft, etc.

Others please correct me if this is wrong.

[Kuciwalker]

Why the **** not? I have always despised drugs.

Because the drug war has been a disastrous failure, especially for the African-American community?

The only thing is that I have always been a proponent of education and shorter sentences for drug dealers and stricter penalties for users. The dealers are only finding a way to profit from an established horrible situation brought on by the demand for drugs. You have to strike at the demand not the supply to get rid of the drug situation.

Holy **** that's a terrible idea.

[Kuciwalker]

WHO THE **** CARES ABOUT ECONOMICS?!

There are more important things in this world than what can be counted and measured!

Am I in the twilight zone or something where people don't comprehend this?

Exactly as I predicted...

[Al B. Sure!]

Economics is the science of counting and measuring things that you seem to think can't be counted and measured, you dumb ****. The only interpretation of your statement that would make you seem anything greater than a total idiot is "economics is currently extremely inaccurate".

Hey HC, I don't give a ****.

Economics is not the be-all, end-all of life:

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

[Kuciwalker]

You're forgetting a few possibilities:

1. An uninsured man who gets hospitalized due to his poor eating habits and cannot pay the costs, which get passed on to others.
2. Clearly an increase in the workforce's productivity is beneficial to everyone even if it is most beneficial to the now-more-productive individual. Imagine for instance if Bill Gates or Richard Feynman had chosen to simply not work. At an individual level it would have been most detrimental to themselves but it also would be detrimental to everyone else.

You didn't answer the question. We don't penalize people who choose to simply not work beyond not getting paid; why should we penalize people who choose to work less than perhaps they could?

[Al B. Sure!]

Speer you are not grasping the concept of supply and demand. You can certainly strike at both. By decreasing supply you drive up price, decreasing demand. And you can discourage consumption, which would tend to drop the price however these two forces need not cancel each other once you pile on enough disincentives and sufficiently cut down on supply.

WOW.

Hey HC, I'm going to be nice and show you why you are wrong. Let's just take this sentence...

By decreasing supply you drive up price, decreasing demand.

What do you suppose the price elasticity of demand is for ADDICTIVE drugs?

[Kuciwalker]

For the record: while particular modes of analysis commonly used in the study of economics may not be directly applicable to the question (I deny even this), saying "economics doesn't apply!" is equivalent to saying "logic and data don't apply - we must make all of our arguments based on faith and opinion".

[Kidlicious]

We define value in a sense such that the individual by definition knows PRECISELY how valuable something is (given no disparity in information). Therefore it is impossible for the government to be able to know what is more valuable to you. The government serves to eliminate the disparity in information--read: prevent fraud, theft, etc.

Others please correct me if this is wrong.

The problem is that people don't know what is valuable to them.

edit: fast food - case in point

[Kuciwalker]

What do you suppose the price elasticity of demand is for ADDICTIVE drugs?

Very high for those consumed by people who are liquidity-constrained [i.e. mostly the poor].

[Hauldren Collider]

There is definitely price elasticity for addictive drugs, it is just much lower than other things. The price of gas changes constantly and its demand is particularly inelastic.

[Al B. Sure!]

What do you suppose the price elasticity of demand is for ADDICTIVE drugs?

Very high for those consumed by people who are liquidity-constrained [i.e. mostly the poor].

You clearly know nothing about the poor or drug addicts.

[Hauldren Collider]

The problem is that people don't know what is valuable to them.

edit: fast food - case in point

What I JUST EXPLAINED is that by definition, what they think is valuable to them IS what is valuable to them. It's impossible to think you know and not know in this instance.

Whether they are wisely assigning value to things is a completely separate point.

[Kuciwalker]

Do you have any data to back up your assertion, AS?

[Al B. Sure!]

Let me just say, there's a million ways that an addict can get around 'liquidity-constraints'... and they do it all the time. Come to North Philly, Kuci. I'll let you stay with me. It'll be an experience.