I loved this passage by Zvi Mowshowitz:
In this mindset [of bureacrats], the way that you accomplish things is you spend public money and otherwise burn resources. They then brag about how many resources were spent.
Spending resources is not a benefit. Spending resources is a cost.
Spending money is not a benefit. Spending money is a cost.
More people working on the problem is not a benefit. It is a cost.
More hours devoted to the problem is not a benefit. It is a cost.
More time spent in college is not a benefit. It is a cost.
More vaccinations or medical care is not a benefit. It is a cost.
These things can of course be very good costs to be spending if they result in benefits.
Sometimes they do. If the medical care makes you healthy and the college gives you useful knowledge and the work solved the problem, that’s great.
Often they do not do this. Or, there is a much lower-cost way. Do that instead.
Usually the lower-cost way that would work better is ‘stop restricting X.’
That’s not how this kind of thinking works.
This kind of thinking is that what is praiseworthy is the Sacrifice to the Gods. Problems are solved by the destruction of resources.
Covid 9/8/22: Booster Boosting
