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Thursday, November 9, 2006
What behaviors do we buy?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While testifying recently before a Georgia State Senate study committee, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, argued for revolutionary shifts in the nation’s healthcare system to one that promotes wellness and healthier lifestyles. As he noted, we’ve gone in just a few decades from a nation with chronic hunger problems to one that suffers chronic obesity.
At the core of the debate is a challenge to conservatives: How do we use government, or the bully-pulpit it presents, to change behaviors? One of my favorite examples of an inappropriate use of government is the Georgia Lottery and state lotteries everywhere. The fact that a public housing project maintenance man from Bainbridge recently won $66 million — his take of an advertised $163 million jackpot — along with the feel-good stories that surface periodically about how much the lottery “contributes” to education, make for swell public relations.
But as conservatives who would recast government, a first consideration always when proposing new programs is what behaviors we’ re buying. With the lottery, we’re “buying” these:
- We’re encouraging the poor to spend money their children may need for necessities.
- We’re tempting the weak to succumb to a possible addiction.
- We’re telling families that it’s not really necessary to save or plan for college for their children because the state will do that for them.
- We’re encouraging teachers and school officials to inflate grades to make marginal students eligible for government financial assistance.
- We’re inviting the young to think that riches come by chance, not by hard work and thrift.
On the plus side: A few people do get rich, For most of us, the lottery is affordable entertainment, disposable income that goes to gambling as opposed to a big order of fries. And some kids do get to go to college, or to a more desirable college.
For conservatives in government, two questions should always precede legislation and regulation: One is “what behaviors are we buying?” The second is: “Can it be justified on a cost-benefit basis?”
