Monday, September 27, 2010

"Say What? "Market Mechanism" Nonsense Edition"

From Division of Labor:
From a WSJ piece on the DC bag tax (emphasis added):
"I am somewhat surprised by the extent to which people changed their behavior," said Christophe A.G. Tulou, acting director of the city Department of the Environment. "What we've done is created a market mechanism that gives people an incentive" not to use disposable bags.
Dude, a tax is not a market mechanism! This may be the greatest policy since sliced bread, but it is a government directive not a market mechanism. Wonder if he things the income tax is also a "market mechanism"?
The poster is Chair of the econ dept. at Berry College. I guess you  can say "Dude" when you have tenure.
I have to go with lines like:
...Just as an economist using the tools of science (mathematics) doesn't make economics a science, carbon traders using the tools of markets doesn't make carbon trading market based....
From our post -"WARNING: Physics Envy May Be Hazardous To Your Wealth!"