This is why “incentivizing” things - a.k.a. “gov’t programs”
- so often fail. And it’s been that way since governments started them…
One story from the interesting, if perhaps questionable, Freakanomics book series** :
In colonial India, Delhi had a serious cobra problem. British colonial governor hit on a plan to pay a 1 rupee bounty for every cobra skin a resident brought in. Some months later, they noticed the rate/amount of payouts graph shooting up.
Turned out enterprising natives were breeding the dang things in cages purely for the govt market.
His governorship canceled the program. Reaction: breeders simply emptied their cages. Result: worse cobra problem in town than before.
** Disclaimer: i have no idea of the truth of the story; plus I’m going off memory. So my details are sketchy but the gist of it revolves around artificial govt manipulation….
www.gunsamerica.com
