As I explained in the FAQ it's logically impossible for "important" things to be underfunded.
Let's say that we implemented pragmatarianism. After a year we polled people to gauge their opinion on the EPA's funding. What do you think the results of the poll would be? Would there be a disparity between the results of the poll and the EPA's actual funding? If so, would you trust people's words or their actions?
Right now I guess that most people don't value the environment as much as I do. But it's just a guess because in the absence of tax choice there's no way that I can possibly truly know how much society values the environment. Does it really matter that I don't have this information? Should I spend all my time hitting everybody over the head with pro-environment information anyways? Should I bark up a tree regardless of whether there's a cat in it? Should I leap without looking?
If budgets are inconsistent then it's because demand is inconsistent. Shall we supply something regardless of demand? If so, then how could you possibly object to anything that the government does with your tax dollars?
You started off with concern regarding what voters don't realize... and then you ended with concern regarding advertising. For some reason I really love the idea of government organizations having to persuade me that I'm going to really benefit from how they are using society's limited resources.
After a year we polled people to gauge their opinion on the EPA's funding.
Most of the people you pool don't know how much funding the EPA gets and what they could do with marginal dollars.
For some reason I really love the idea of government organizations having to persuade me that I'm going to really benefit from how they are using society's limited resources.
Nativity is likely the biggest reason. It corrupts the process when politicians with the majority can spend money from the public purse on convincing voters of their political goals.
I sure think it is! But I could be wrong...
This is my first article/post? here and to be honest, I have this website open in another tab and I keep refreshing it to see if I still have enough points to post. I wish I would have taken a screenshot every time my karma changed. First it was 0, then it was -1, then it was back to 0, then I think it jumped up to 5. I thought I was safe but then this morning it was down to 0. So if this post seems "linky" then it might be because I'm trying to share as much information as I can while my window of opportunity is still open.
Pragmatarianism (tax choice) is the belief that taxpayers should be able to choose where their taxes go. Tax choice is the broad concept while pragmatarianism is my own personal spin on it... but sometimes I use "tax choice" when I mean pragmatarianism. Eh, at this point I don't think it's a big deal. Really the only thing nice about the word "pragmatarianism" is that it functions as a unique ID... which is extremely helpful when it comes to searches. Don't have to worry about wading through irrelevant results.
Here are some links from my blog which should help you decide whether pragmatarianism is more or less wrong...
Pragmatarianism FAQ - a good place to start. It's pretty short.
Key concepts - a work in progress. Some of the concepts are linked to entries which have PDF files with a bunch of relevant quotes and passages. If you like any of them then please share them in this thread... Quotes Repository. I shared a few but they didn't fare so well... so I'm guessing that most people here aren't fans of economics... or they aren't fans of my economics.
Progress as a Function of Freedom - hedging bets, the impossibility of hostile aliens, the problem with "rights".
What Do Coywolves, Mr. Nobody, Plants And Fungi All Have In Common? - the universal drive to choose the most valuable option, the carrying model as an explanation for our intelligence, a bit on rationality.
Builderism - where better options come from, globalization, debunking Piketty, eliminating poverty.
My Robin Hanson trilogy...
Is Robin Hanson's Path To Efficient Voting Pragmatic Or Brilliant Or Both? - maybe we should have a civic currency?
Rescuing Robin Hanson From Unmet Demand - how many other people are in the same boat?
Futarchy vs Pragmatarianism - is it logically inconsistent to support one but not the other?
/trilogy.
AI Box Experiment vs Xero's Rule - my first brainstorm attempt to wrap my mind around the idea of an AI box.
Is A Procreation License Consistent With Libertarianism? - would a procreation license be less wrong?
Why I Love Your Freedom - my critique of the best critique of libertarianism. A bit on rationality.
So what do you think? Am I in the right place?
What else? Of course I'm an atheist! And I love sci-fi... and for sure I want to live forever. The major obstacle is that too many people fail to grasp that progress depends on difference. I do my best to try and eliminate this obstacle. Unfortunately I suck at writing and my drawings are even worse. Oh well.
Let me know if you have any questions.