AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS ADDICT

A Christmas Song – Nat King Cole

O Holy Night – Jennifer Hudson

“Some time ago, I resigned myself to the fact that economists are the wet blankets of the world. We can ruin almost any proposal and almost any situation with just a couple of analytical tools and the words “unintended consequences.” Rent control….. Minimum wages…… Laws against “price gouging…….the list of dreams that have been dashed upon the rocks of the principles of economics is long indeed.”

“Not content to ruin the dreams of a few idealists, economists turned their attention to Christmas a few years ago. Here are a few thoughts from the Dismal Science that rain on the holiday parade.”

” You shouldn’t have. No, Really. You Shouldn’t have. The classic salvo in the literature on the economics of Christmas is Joel Waldfogel’s “The Deadweight Loss of Christmas,” which provides a bit of evidence that people would be happier if you gave them cash instead of an equally-expensive present.  Yes, it’s the thought that counts, but how many of us have given (or gotten) gifts that have ended up in an end-of-year Goodwill donation or a Spring yard sale?”

“The spectacular wealth we enjoy today has created the epitome of a first-world problem: over-gifting. It used to be that giving a gift required a meaningful material sacrifice. Today, baubles are so cheap that our problem isn’t a lack of generosity. It’s poorly-channeled generosity. You have probably heard people joke that kids are usually more interested in the boxes the toys come in than the toys themselves”

“If we’re honest with ourselves, we will see some of the ways in which Christmas lays bare our hypocrisy. You’ve probably heard someone say “don’t give until it hurts; give until it feels good,” and again, I think that if we’re really honest with ourselves a lot of our charitable endeavors have less to do helping the least of these among us than with showing that we’re the kind of people who care about the least of these among us. I’ve written before that “let not your left hand know what your right is doing” is not merely a sound Biblical injunction regarding our giving. It’s also excellent economics. If you haven’t read about people anonymously paying off others’ layaway accounts at Kmarts around the country, it’s an excellent example of what I’m talking about.”

“As a mentor has told me, economics shows us that it is very difficult to be charitable in ways that actually benefit the people we’re trying to help. Some people might find this sad–dismal, even. I actually think it’s kind of liberating because it suggests that–at the risk of being dramatic–a better world is possible. A new paradigm for charity and justice will require a lot of thinking outside the donation box. With Christmas 2019 and a brand new year right around the corner, it’s a challenge I look forward to meeting head-on.”

SATIRICAL HEADLINE

Santa Claus Accused Of Quid Pro Quo For Giving Children Gifts In Exchange For Good Behavior, at babylonbee.com.