Local Government Fiscal Sustainability As A Common Pool Resource Problem

Chapter 8: A question that has stuck with Wheelan for years, asked by one of his peers was, “If people know so much about public policy, then why is everything so messed up” (175)? The reason for that is because it leads to something far more significant: Even when economists reach consensus on policies that would be to our advantage, they frequently run into political opposition. And when it comes to interest groups in politics, it pays to be small because the tail can wag the dog. This can have a huge impact on the economy. They are usually the most successful because the consequence of requests they receive are spread over a large, disunified group of people. Wheelan states that small problems begin to distort the simplest jobs of a market

Deborah Stone begins her book, Policy Paradox, by stating, “a theory of policy politics must start with a simple model of political society, just as economics starts with a simple model of economic society.” Deborah Stone examines two policy-making models to describe the paradox’s of the process model for public policy. The two models include: the market (rational model) and the Polis (community) model. Stone states she contrasts these two models to “illuminate some ways the market model distorts political life.” As discussed in class, the market model follows five steps:

Other government objectives include equal distribution of income and environmental management. Though, it is evident that not all of these objectives can be achieved simultaneously as some are conflicting. Thus the government must trade-off some of

Being two of the most respected and qualified academicians on public policy, Charles Murray, and Robert B. Reich have never been short of making controversial and contradicting statements which arguably serves only their interest of getting an audience. Public policy as it is has been subjected to lots of changes throughout the history leading to different reactions and opinions from different individuals. “What it means to be a Libertarian-A Personal Interpretation” written by Charles Murray, explicitly describes how the society should view the government by claiming it can help in achieving overall happiness and allowing members of the society to have a right to individual freedom when coping with the changes brought by public policy. On the other hand, Robert B. Reich’s “Aftershock the next Economy and America’s Future” talks about overcoming our problems by keeping a tier of classes. This paper discusses the contradicting views of these two writers.

Economically there are many challenges we face as a country with our current fiscal policies. Since the 2008 financial crisis, there have been many debates in regards to how we should go about managing our financial system. Unfortunately, we as team believe that in order for us to stabilize our nation financial issues we are going to have to make restrictions in certain channels, which might affecting our way of life. One area needing attention is government spending and how it has to be reduced, and this would have a ripple effect in certain areas. Our elected officials will have to come to a compromise and determine which sectors are costly and can be reduced.

Democracies have always been known to self-destruct when the majority realizes it can vote itself hand-outs from the minority by electing the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury. To maintain their power, these candidates must adopt an ever-increasing tax and spend policy to satisfy the ever-increasing desires of the majority. As taxes are increased, the incentive for the productive to produce decreases

A successful economy is perhaps the most key ingredient leading to a successful nation. An economy is a delicate balance of many different conflicting and coexisting elements. Naturally, an economy’s success can often be measured by the amount of wealth it contains, not to mention the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of its distribution of the wealth. Effective distribution of wealth is no easy feat. Wealthy and poor people will always need to coexist- this is an inescapable truth. The government’s job in many cases becomes that of a referee. Naturally, perfect peace and harmony between two totally different classes would be a utopia, and probably will never be completely achieved. A government must, therefore,

“Open ended benefit programs, funded by other people’s money” foster a ’something for nothing’ mentality, that is weakening America”, states Nicholas Eberstadt. The governments need to emphasize unemployment spending and help businesses that are failing, is driving the national debt up by the day (Clemmitt). “Government is what it spends” Allen Schick shares in Clemmitt’s article, but this statement is only factual if that government spends its money wisely.

The author also explains how “government debt is every politician’s dream” because it helps them buy votes through their expenditure on government programs.

Public officials (administrators) interpret their responsibilities to the public in different ways. Hence, left in the hands of individual ethics and moral theory. A Washington State resident paying taxes in support of the commons, expects taxes to be used wisely. Although, observation of administrators shows a tendency of long entrenched administrators to support state’s good and bad decisions in order to maintain established patterns of doing business. Individual citizen questions about established patterns of doing business appear unwarranted and should be sterilized. Therefore, a conditioned response enforces an

A weak fiscal position can cause weak government ability to provide security for property rights, and makes it harder to borrow in the face of security crisis’s. Citizens receive value from government’s role in making and enforcing laws that give citizens the opportunity to freely pursue opportunities. The US is a developed economy but don’t mean its government doesn’t need to retake reform measures. Having an orderly governing body allows private citizens to make long term investment decisions about their personal resources. The government involvement is vital because it provides the best opportunity to accomplish its national investment and growth goals through entrepreneurial spirits of all citizens.

Taxes have always been a contentious issue of debate in the United States; furthermore it is exacerbated by the specific philosophy of individuals, states, and regions. Too be clearer, nobody enjoys paying taxes, however it is the cost we pay for having civilization. Nevertheless, selfishness creeps in to many individuals who feel no particular benefit. Taxes have a real way of polarizing many people from different socio-economic backgrounds, because a tax is inexorably linked to a person’s belief-system. For instance, in the context of social welfare policy liberals are inclined to feel that the tax-burden should be heaped on individuals who have benefited the most from “the system”. On the other hand, we have conservatives who feel they did not receive any support, and all that is necessary is hard work and perseverance to succeed. I am not suggesting either one is correct; it is only a simple illustration to show the relation between pocketbook and personal belief. I hope studying the tax structures of New Jersey and Alabama will give me insight they both reconcile their political beliefs with their individual tax structures.

The decentralization of spending authority creates deficit financing. By spreading the spending responsibility among so many committees, Congress has created a commons problems. Numerous claimants are competing for a commonly owned resource. The forces of competition for the resource are leading to over consumption and exhaustion of the resource. From the individual committee perspective the commonly owned resource is federal revenues. The consumers of the resource are the congressional committees. The common resource is over consumed

This paper will attempt to answer the question: Is the federal deficit and government deficits in general a good or a bad thing? While it may be easy to lose sight of how the government chooses to handle its money, it is also important for citizens to be conscious of how their money is being spent, and whether or not the current course that the government is plotted on is either sustainable or the best allocation of resources.

When the government gets involved and taxes goods and services, it raises revenue for the government, decreases the quantity of goods produced and consumed and therefore, both consumers and the producer of the good will pay, splitting the costs of the tax and leveling up with society’s.