Here’s a simple quiz:
For a mayor running for reelection, which situation would cause the most worry?
1. A minor scandal
2. Discussions of the need for a tax increase
3. Delayed snow removal from residential streets
If you live in a northern state, the correct answer (number 3) is obvious.
Now hold that thought.
I recently wrote a blog post on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. I blamed the lack of recovery on the state — a core belief of free market economics.
Yet the comments show some readers look past the state and instead seek an explanation in one of the many other social sciences. The blame has to be rooted in something else. The state is not sufficient.
In addition, an implicit theme can be read that claims we (Americans) would have reacted differently. We would have organized ourselves, gotten to work and cleaned up the mess without the need for outside help — from the domestic state, foreign states, or otherwise.
OK, back to the snow-covered streets of any large northern (and southern, this year, anyway) city.
It does not matter the demographics of the neighborhood, city residents sit helpless until government plows clear their street. To hear these folks tell it, it is the duty of the mayor to have the streets cleared as soon as possible. Shovels that are able to remove snow and ice from private driveways and sidewalks never venture onto a city street. So for days, residents cry out to the city government for help: a cry that is heard every year after every snowfall.
This should not be a shock. Even the hearty and adventurous few who sailed to this continent suffered as hapless fools, at least until they dropped the common ownership nonsense and embraced private property. So my local peers are simply reacting as almost all react when confronted with the commons. [1]
No one should expect the Haitians to react any different than either those who came before us or those who live next door. Without secure property rights, and with a thieving state, even the successful and ambitious lie down in the common fields to await either the hand of the state or some other fate.
Note:
[1] Keep in mind that the private parking lots of local stores and malls are being cleared even as the snow falls.
{ 39 comments }
i disagree with how you have characterized the blogposts singled out for criticism. nobody has looked past the noxious effects of the state. you, however, seem to have overlooked how civil societies may look different, and throw out different outcomes from country to country.
the heavy hand of the state in scandinavia has not exhibited itself in the same way as it has in haiti.
Naturally I (and many others) are a bit suspicious of such arguments, given not a single shred of evidence for them has been presented aside from racist sentiment.
“may” indicates speculation. to argue that all peoples are exactly equal in all respects, and all civil societies identical seems just as bereft of evidence, aside from egalitarian sentiment.
The issue here isn’t whether or not racial differences exist, it’s whether or not such differences (if they exist) are relevant to the issue currently being discussed. The issue here is the state’s impact on Haiti’s recovery. Unless you’re attempting to present it as a possible alternative explanation (which you admit you aren’t doing), race has absolutely no bearing here.
What is the issue at hand, Seattle? That the state has made the situation in Haiti worse than it otherwise would be (no question it has), or that the state has made that situation in Haiti as bad as it is (here YOU might want to provide some proof that you chastise others for supposedly lacking). Do you understand the difference between these two questions?
Here is some evidence on the lack of property rights in Haiti. Whether you believe it or not is another issue.
http://www.globalpropertyguide.co.uk/Caribbean/Haiti/property-rights-index
Newson, the heavy hand of the state? Surely you have ventured into the Mises forum?
http://mises.org/Community/forums/t/5616.aspx
As for the Tragedy of the Commons, I like that point about the malls and other private roads. Just because we’re not used to something doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work. But that always seems to be the biggest barrier to acceptance of an argument.
there are even differences in tragedies of commons. attitudes towards littering or despoiling public areas differ from country to country. of course, i agree that private ownership affords better husbandry of resources across all cultures.
“[1] Keep in mind that the private parking lots of local stores and malls are being cleared even as the snow falls.”
Well, of course! not only a parking lot is a service provided for paying or potential customers, should an accident happen there, the store/mall is legally responsible. So they are very motivated to keeping the parking lot snow-free.
Now, if you’re driving on a snow-covered street and you suffer an accident – well, you should have listened to the government and stayed at home!
Oh, just a side note: in the country I currently live in, the state is involved in regulating parking fees at malls. Apparently people are complaining that “parking at the mall is too expensive”, and therefore “the state should do something about it.”
Aren’t the aid workers in Haiti functioning as the state? They are driving up real estate values (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/20/haiti-housing-prices-riva_n_769813.html) while not really helping the Haitians. This creates homelessness among the poorer people. If, one year later, most of the debris is still in the streets, then what are the aid workers really accomplishing? Maybe keeping some people alive, I hope? You have to be really careful – is charity providing a hand-up, helping people get to a better place, or is it creating dependency (some people in New Orleans were still living in FEMA trailers 5 years after Katrina, for example). State-run charity and private charity may be the same dreadful thing, in a lot of cases.
No, the aid workers in Haiti are certainly not functioning as the state, unless they’re committing aggressive violence. If we are to consider any action harmful to consumers “state-like,” than anyone who seeks to buy something is driving up demand and therefore price, and is therefore “functioning as the state.” The article you cited uses what is basically the argument from inequality: the Americans are richer than the Haitians, therefore the Americans are to be blamed for the poverty the Haitians experience. Notice that the article has completely failed to do the one thing a responsible investigation would demand: compare (A) the previously existing dwelling space used by the NGO’s to (B) the amount of new dwelling space created by the NGO’s. If B > A, the NGO’s have made housing more affordable. Until that question in addressed, the article provides no useful information on the desirability of charity, and serves as nothing more than an example of part of the American population’s insane self-flagellation over prosperity.
Isn’t driving up the price of housing, simply by being there, aggressive when Haitians are left homeless? Demand for housing (and thus, price) is driven up by people who may not be helping that much, or by people whose help isn’t that valuable when you consider the consequences of them being there. To use your example above, if the aid workers and NGO’s had created a ton of affordable housing (and that the Haitian people wanted, after all), then housing prices would be falling, not skyrocketing, as the article link I inserted implies. American wealth is not the issue – the question is of return on charitable investment (and whether a dependency was created). If the aid workers were helping, why is only 5% of the street debris cleared after one year (follow the blog post link above)? Why, with all of the people and money that flooded Haiti, has a year passed and so little progress been made (relative to the people and money)? These are tough questions that don’t have good answers, but blindly applauding whenever some rich people try and help others is not the answer.
Are you implying Haitians have a right to low housing prices? That kind of mindset is part of the reason Haiti’s too poor for even dirt.
No, I’m saying that Haiti may be better off without aid workers.
If that’s what you meant, you should’ve said so, not made up some malarkey about aggression.
In the aftermath of a natural disastor, I’m saying it is possible that the aid workers, NGO’s, etc., become state-like – they control the resources and dictate what goes on. A bottom-up, “chaotic”, approach would be better long term for Haiti, not this force-Haiti-to-act-like-America approach.
Robert Murphy’s article seems to support this:
http://mises.org/daily/4354
No, Dave… buying something that someone else wants is absolutely NOT aggressive. It my be detrimental, it may be counterproductive, but unless they are using or threatening force it is not aggression.
Ask anybody who works for the government, and they will vehemently disagree that they are doing anything aggressive or forceful. I don’t think this is as clear cut as you believe. Are all of the aid workers privately funded? And, are they making things better off? A group of people forcing Western ideas and “assistance” on Haitian people – sounds like that enters into aggression to me.
Dave,
People are obviously selling/renting the houses to aid workers… those people at least are better off. I believe that that is what Robert was getting at below when he said that higher housing prices are helping Haitians.
As for the rest of it, there are poor people in China who have trouble providing food for their families, but people buying food from China are not aggressing against the people without food. Voluntary exchanges of goods (in this case money for housing) are mutually beneficial; that is one of the key tenets of Austrian economics. To the degree that aid workers are spending tax money there is aggression, but that is primarily against the people from whom the money was taken.
Buying food is different than riding in on your high horse and forcing “charity” on people. Buying food is voluntary on both sides, the other is not.
Dave,
For the last time, I am NOT saying that the aid workers are doing good, making things better, helping, or any other positive thing.
All I am saying is that buying houses and offering to provide free services (that may or may not be helpful) are NOT AGGRESSION.
p.s. If you have evidence that aid workers are forcing food down people’s throats or taking things without paying for them I will give in… until then their actions are voluntary in nature.
Aid workers working to undermine private-property rights in Haiti…..
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/31/1755495/haiti-relief-efforts-doing-good.html
Aggression………..
“They are driving up real estate values (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/20/haiti-housing-prices-riva_n_769813.html) while not really helping the Haitians.”
Driving up prices IS HELPING the Haitians.
So, inflation is good? A lot of people on here would disagree with you, I think.
How so? Suffering builds character?
Because all the hatians are sitting on gigantic piles of wealth they just refuse to spend on anything, which is why there’s no investment. By raising prices you’ll convince them to unload their savings quick while they still can, which will allow businesses to grow!
Driving up prices is helping SOME Haitians.
As in any case of inflation, those who are closer to the source of additional money benefit. Those who are far from it (and that is always the majority of people) suffer.
Buying houses, thus driving up property values is NOT inflation, as Austrians define it. If the aid workers were printing new money to buy houses with that would be inflationary… simply bidding resources away from other areas and into housing is not inflationary.
Anthony,
The prices are going up because all these foreign aid organizations pay their staff in dollars – with the result that there’s a lot of dollars flowing into Haiti. Someone else is printing the money, sure, but as far as Haiti is concerned, these dollars come “out of thin air” to use Ron Paul’s expression.
This is not a case of resource bidding. It’s a case of monetary inflation. Suddenly, there’s a lot of money coming into the system, in the form of payment to foreign aid workers. It is not simply, “most houses were destroyed in the earthquake, the ones standing become more expensive”. That would not have happened, the houses would be empty, since locals could not afford it anyway.
as a haitian who worked in Haiti. The nonsense I saw there with the Large Aid groups is astounding. the earthquake respect no one so they are lawyers, doctors, senators who live in tents because the house prices sky rocketed doue to the influx of aid groups. they don’t bargain because they have your donations to blow for example apartments that used to be 1000 or 1500 are going for 6000 a month, we are talking US dollars here.
the permanent aid groups and fly by night groups always project the image of the poor and helpless haitians who would disappear without international aid. where was haiti before all the Aid money came pouring in 25-30yrs ago, well 1 US dollar used to = 5 haitian gourdes, now 1 US dollar = 40 Haitian gourdes? we use to be able to feed ourselves now we import 60-80% of foods and we import mangos. because genius international experts figure out thatthey should just dump us rice on us instead of helping farmers be more productive. why should haitian work on farm when they can work in sweatshops in prot-au- prince for 2 bucks a day.
the aid groups are a double edge sword, they do provide relief but they are not and will never be equip with the skills to provide development. development require investment, knowledge, expertise and accountability.
most if not all of the Aid groups in haiti don’t know anything about haitian people, what the people need, the people’s ability or culture.
Imagine the UN sending Chinese people who don’t speak English to help the US after a major disaster like Sept 11 or Katrina. Imagine the Chinese people refuse to incorporate Americans in the decision process of rebuilding New Orleans, rather they just deal with interpreter who speak broken Chinese to learn about the US and Americans. they would rather not hire Americans because they are not accustomed to their work. they insist on bringing Chinesse to rebuild the cities. they only give American companies 2% of the contracts. plus they hard that Americans are so grateful to get work for $5 an hour. so they only have work that pay $5. they only hire a few Americans but they have to be fluent in Chinese. all the meetings that take place are in Chinese so the Americans would like to help but doesn’t speak Chinese don’t know what’s going on. The Americans think that the people in New orleans should spread to other state but the Chinese refuse to provide any sort of aid outside of New Orleans. The Chinese has their own plans on how to rebuild new orleans and the Americans have their own plans. since the Chinese has the money screw what the Americans got to say or think.
in my humble opinion the only thing Haitian people need are heavy machinery because we have none, operators to train the haitians for few week and a couple of expert in building earthquake proof homes. and let the Haitian duke it out themselves. I mean Haiti don’t have 911? who did you think help the people out the rubbles when the quake first hit in the crucial 24hr period? haitians did.
we are grateful for the doctors and nursese and speciallist that came from all over and that’s all we needed. we did not need the career aid directors, assessor, consultants, workers and blah blah.
we are not and never been a helpless people so it kills me to see how they portray as just sitting with our hands out begging. That’s not us, that’s they want you to believe. so please stop sending your hard earn money. You know one of these aid dirctor/consultant had the nerve to request Egyptian cotton bedsheets in Haiti while working as consultant at 10 grand a month and renting a 6 grand house paid for by the org, (my friend had to buy the sheet at Macy’s for 200 dollars a set)a maid, a gate boy, for the house she was renting? I mean if you people only know where the hell your money went. is the Haitian government corrupt? hell yea! are the aid groups corrupt? hell yea! just like the Haitians they only give contract to their buddies.
So what is the big difference between the large Aid groups and the Haitian government? one is smart enough to Hire good PR? you smart enough to know which one.
but Aid is a big 120 billion dollar a year industry, what would happen if suddenly we stop sending aid groups to fix the problem and put the money in a trust fund so haitians and can apply for a low interest loan to fix their own home and start a business? im not talking about that nonsense micro loans where they give you 50 bucks to start a business? you know how much 50 bucks is worth in Haiti? 50 bucks!! what they hell can youdo with that other than buying candy to resell. I am talking about real loans and providing real business people as mentors, you know people who actually ran a business other that a aid group. look at their resume and you will see all they do is run aid groups. the real determinate factor is not how many people you help, or how succcesful was the project, did it sustain itself, nah, but HOW MUCH MONEY DIdYOU RAISE?
where would the aid directors work? at macdonald? even at Mcdonald require accountability. you better flip that burger right and not let it fall on the ground? only in Aid land can messed up and still get more money. so please hold on to your donation. if you christian, give it to the churches, they maybe misguded but they are lesser of the two evils, at least they build schools.
Have you stopped to think that most of the “aid” going in in Haiti is run by foreign governments?
Price inflation is not the same as monetary inflation.
Aid to Haiti operates per the same dynamic as all charity: the charity is selling social status to its donors, NOT improved living conditions to Haitians.
The Haitians are just an expense item for the charity and whether they benefit from the transaction is completely incidental. All those billions of dollars in aid and stupid, naive lefties effing things up by their very presence, and they haven’t so much as laid one foot of PVC for a waste-water facility.
Really? Not one foot of pipe? Exactly how do you know that?
Nope, not a single foot. Haiti does not have a single facility for the handling and treatment of its sewage and waste water.
It does, however, have cell phone towers, so they’ll be as advanced as Somalia lickety-split.
Jim Fedako:
If the citizens of Auburn and the citizens of Port-au-Prince woke up one morning to find the State had disappeared, do you seriously think their reactions would be the same? More to the point, in which place would you rather be when that happened?
Remember all the rioting and looting that happened on the Mississippi coast after Katrina? Remember? Surely you must remember.
Without secure property rights, and with a thieving state, even the successful and ambitious lie down in the common fields to await either the hand of the state or some other fate.
Uh, speak for yourself on that one pal.
“Remember all the rioting and looting that happened on the Mississippi coast after Katrina?”
Sure do, the cops and military were quite vicious in their criminal behavior.
@The Anti-Gnostic
Thats true – there is a difference. Everything else is political correctness. PC=Lying
For Example: Why did Germans build up their burned downed cities within years, while axis robbed their industries, patents and technology, wealth, men put in concentrations camps in sibiria and so on. And folks, please do not argue with the marshall plan. Less then 10 percent of the money went to germany – the rest to european countries like England and France. And now, 65 years later, Germany is paying for the rest of europe more than ever, more than in times of Versailles.
The big question now: Where is the difference???
you don’t need a police state to censor speech when people bite their own tongue.
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