This page was last updated on October 5, 2017.
One Graph, 10,000 Words; Carl Davidson (KD); Facebook; October 3, 2017.
You can learn more about BCR’s leftster management here. “Leftster” is the combination of leftist and gangster, inspired by the left-originated “bankster.”
Carl Davidson (KD): “ONE GRAPH, 10,000 WORDS. Let’s see. Figure that the abnormal price increase for the top four is a sign of market failure. So let’s make Bernie-style demands: Public college tuition free to the student! Dump charters, decent public school for all, Make Daycare part of the public school system. and least but not least, Medicare for All!”
[RWC] KD’s post is in reference to this graph: “Price changes in consumer goods and services in the USA, 1997-2017”
Contrary to what KD would like us to believe, “the abnormal price increase for the top four is a sign” of government interference, not one of “market failure.”
Look at the curves in the graph and you’ll see an unmistakable trend. The curves at the top represent areas with the most government interference and those with the least interference are at the bottom. Those items above the 0% line receive a substantial chunk of ongoing government support of one kind or another; as a rule, the items below the line do not or receive so little it doesn’t matter. For example, there are/were subsidies for electric and hybrid vehicles, but it is/was too little to affect the “New cars” market.
As described in detail in my paper, “Medical care” hasn’t been a free market since at least World War II.
The story is the same for “College tuition fees” and “Education.” We keep throwing more and more money at all levels of education yet it’s never “enough” and the price of tuition keeps increasing for students and/or their parents. There is no such thing as “Public college tuition free to the student!” Anyone who has taken a high school economics class knows demand increases when the price of a good or service decreases. In this case, people who would otherwise not consider college will attend because it’s “free,” driving up the taxes required to pay for the increased faux demand. The student will graduate or drop out sooner or later. In either case, he’ll have to start paying the taxes needed to pay for “Public college tuition free to the student!”
What happens to private colleges? “Brand name” colleges will survive, of course, but what about the other good private colleges? It’s tough to compete with a business who gives away its goods or services. I reviewed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (Socialist-VT) “College for All Act” a couple of years ago. A point of interest in BS’ proposal is federal taxpayers pay for only two-thirds of the tuition. To get these funds, state taxpayers must pony up the other third. This is a common Sanders stunt.
“Household energy” is a combination of worldwide demand and U.S. policies – right or wrong - pushing out “cheaper” energy sources like coal.
“Housing?” Government programs helped people to buy houses they could not afford. That drove up housing prices and was at the bottom of the recession that began in 2007/2008.
“Food and Beverages” are affected by all kinds of subsidies and price protections. In Pennsylvania, we have a minimum milk price and in 2016 Philadelphia imposed a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on so-called “sugary,” sugar-free, and calorie-free drinks.
As for “Medicare for All,” American satirist P.J. O’Rourke wrote, “If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.”
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity. <g>
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