Atlas Shrugged: The Mocking

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

A Fine Grasp Of The Obvious

Shorter Megan McArdle: Making marijuana legal won't stop the cartels from selling other drugs.

Well, yes, that's true. And obvious. But the main point is that  nobody can do anything ever.
This offers a lesson for policymakers -- and not just those who focus on drug policy. Often in policymaking there are no backsies; undoing some policy mistake gives you very different outcomes from the ones that you would have gotten if you’d never tried it in the first place. That’s not an argument for never experimenting, but it is an argument for caution. You break it, you own the outcome.
Strange that McArdle wasn't as cautious when it was time to invade Iraq or bail out the banks.

6 comments:

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Doubtful if Meegan or any of her heroes have ever had to own the outcome of their stupid greedy decisions.

It's what makes them so special.
~

Susan of Texas said...

Yes, you're right. When it comes down to it the best way to know you're special is that you always fail upwards.

Kathy said...

We can't be sure banging flint stones together will make them sharper, and therefore better tools, so we'd best stick with just throwing rocks at things. We can't know for certain that putting our scavenged meat in a fire will improve the meat or make it worse! So we'd best go on eating it raw and half-rotted! We can't KNOW that it's better to live in a cave than cringe under bushes and trees, so we'd best stick with the bush-shelter!

Tengrain said...

Why, it almost sounds like Megs has never returned to the store an ill-considered kitchen appliance.

Regards,

Tengrain

Dark Avenger said...

That's the second funniest thing said in the defense of the WOSD.

The first came from Mark R. Kleiman, who stated he wanted marijuana prohibition to "work".

Susan of Texas said...

Tengrain, from the look of her crowded kitchen, she hasn't.