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Comment by jdreaver | Hacker News Reader

> I see several people putting forth the argument that people are the most efficient at allocating money for themselves. That is not true except in an Ayn Rand novel.

I've never read an Ayn Rand novel, yet I still agree with that statement. I guess if you call someone an Ayn Rand supporter, that is supposed to discredit them? It's a pretty basic economic principle. If you take $10000 from your bank account, you are less likely to impulsively purchase a new car than if someone walked up to your house and gave you $10000. Seriously, it's super simple, and has nothing to do with Ayn Rand.

> If people were so rational, everyone would go to college because the expected value of college still dwarfs the cost of college.

Many people get off fine without college. You are touting your preferences as the only "rational" set of preferences. There is more to life than the "expected value of college."

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>I guess if you call someone an Ayn Rand supporter, that is supposed to discredit them?

"Ayn Rand supporter" is the new "communist sympathizer" or "pinko."

I thought the idea that people were better at allocating money from themselves is more like:

are you better off if I give you $1k no string attached or $1k specifying down to the cent how you are to use it?

Generally speaking people know what their needs are and how to balance them more than complete strangers or even, often, friends. Yes, people have weaknesses, but to try to rule over their weaknesses is highly paternalistic and demeaning. Moreover because of the fungibility of money, in the end often the person will find a way to spend an equivalent batch of the same money in the way they would have anyways.

> $1k specifying down to the cent how you are to use it

I would classify that as someone else spending money on you, with the superficial detail that the money happened to pass through your bank account.

Much like how slave owners worked the cotton fields themselves, with the superficial detail of the work having passed through the body of a slave first.

Not exactly. Food stamps can only be spent on food, but you can determine what food you buy. Financial Aid must have tuition(and often books) deducted before the remainder is deposited into your account. Your company may pay for your hotel room and meal, but only a room at a 3-star hotel or lower and a $20 meal at a casual dining establishment.

It's not as black and white as you guys put it. Strings can exist, but how much they control you can vary greatly.

I never said it was black and white. I thought that was the intent of the person I replied to when they said "down to the cent."

I agree with you that it isn't black and white. (This is simply a semantic argument.)

I agree his statement appeared to be making a black and white argument. Your reply seemed to be further defining the concept behind his statement. Perhaps you were redefining it and I misinterpreted it.

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