What's the problem with government subsidies?

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What's the problem with government subsidies? Easy, they don't change the underlying economics. Here is a great example: Subsidized bus service attracting people to a subsidized park n ride that now becomes crowded. The solution proposed, having government collect a fee for parking, winds up partially offsetting the subsidy.

http://www.seattletimes.com/news/local/html98/buss_19990909.html

Pay parking may be in the future for the county's now-free park-and-ride lots.

We ought to be looking at charging," Councilman Greg Nickels said. Gary Molyneaux, manager of planning and program development for the county's Department of Transportation, reminded the committee of the drawback to charging. "If our goal is to get people on the bus, do we want to create an impediment?" he asked.

It's hard to repeal the law of supply and demand, but government playing games with process can sure become a large cottage industry. .

-- Gary Henriksen (henrik@harbornet.com), September 09, 1999


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