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Subject: 
Re: Fan Thank You Letter
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Fri, 21 Jun 2002 04:11:21 GMT
Viewed: 
1432 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Dave Schuler writes:
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, David Koudys writes:

***snip of stereophilic skullduggery***

Sure it works out for that one stolen car stereo may work out to be a
fraction of a thousanth of a penny per purchase, but A) you're not the only
thief out there and b) you make plenty of purchases.  YOu think that in 10
years, you won't have spent more than 300 dollars on the 'addidtional
expenses' attached to consumer goods that you purchase?  Unless you steal
everything that you need to live, throughout your life you're shelling out
more than the moneys saved by stealing.  Not you as society, but you
specifically--the thief.

Kind of.  But consider that the costs are raised infinitessimally by any
single theft, so it's no good to tell Thief A not to steal; as long as every
other thief is still stealing, then Thief A will still have to pay pretty
much the same amount whether he steals your stereo or not.  That is, over
ten years Thief A would have paid close to $300.00 in theft-absorption costs
anyway, so he might as well help himself to another stereo while he's at it.

    Dave!

Take a look at this link for some more thoughts on the economics of crime
(including, particularly, theft)
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Hidden_Order/Hidden_Order_Chapter_20.html

Friedman's analysis does not quite square with yours.



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: Fan Thank You Letter
 
(...) Feh! What does an economist know about cost/benefit analysis? Interesting article overall, though some of his assumptions seem to depend too much on ideal models rather than real-world situations. The problem, as I see it, is that Thief A (...) (22 years ago, 21-Jun-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Fan Thank You Letter
 
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, David Koudys writes: ***snip of stereophilic skullduggery*** (...) Kind of. But consider that the costs are raised infinitessimally by any single theft, so it's no good to tell Thief A not to steal; as long as every other (...) (22 years ago, 20-Jun-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

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