I've met some friends who argue that markets are good, but have some negative consequences, and they point to New York. They say: New York is a very good example of how markets work, and there you see a lot of rich people but also extreme poverty on the streets.
As I'm not American and never been to New York, I'd like to know how you'd argue against these claims. I guess New York isn't a good example of how free markets really work and there will be many interventions and distorsions, but I don't know the specific ones. And also, if it's true that there's extreme poverty there, how is this (problem?) trying to be solved? via private charity or via State?
I would like you to enlighten me on this issue. Thanks!
Our mayor is Bloomberg, and he likes to use intervention to do what he thinks is good for the New Yorkers, and everybody thinks he's doing a GREAT job!!
well it is true that there's a lot of poverty you can see in the streets and that is the result of government intervention. People here , especially the ones who live in the ghetto area of the cities like the Bronx, Harlem, Flatbush, Fordham, Jamaica, etc.., depend so much on WELFARES!! they basically live off of it! They're lazy, disrespectful, ignorant and nasty. And to make things even worse, theses are the same people who live in the street, commit crimes, rape people, rob banks and mug helpless asian people they see walking alone in their GHETTO streets! Public schools and hospitals are crowded. Roads and streets are always dirty and dangerous. In short, if you want to see the most disrespectful, nastiest, annoying low life kind of people, feel free to come to the GHETTOS of NEW YORK!!
but to answer your question..
poverty here in new york is just getting worse, because the state is making people here fat,lazy and stupid by giving them more welfares in exchange for their stupid votes. Majority if NEW YORKERS are democrats, so that means, democrat officials like hillary and obama can always count on the NEW YORKER votes as long as they supply these people with more welfares. Heck, i think a new yorker can even go to a state department and ask them to wipe their ass..
The cost of living is astronomical in New York- and its a joke to say that NY is an example of how markets work when its one of the most heavily taxed areas in the country. Bloomberg takes our tax money and uses it to push his stupid agendas like removing trans-fat from foods or forcing restaurants to have calorie counts. The MTA which is an important part of people getting to and from work is a huge beurocratic mess that will never re-do their old(and thus expensive to maintain) subway system- but will continue to raise fares so that they can afford to give their CEO $300,000 a year for doing nothing.
Lawmakers in NY have made it excessively expensive to do everything in the city with all their intervention- NY is a good example of how gov't intervention makes everyone's life worse- you have to be rich just to be poor over here. Its a shame because people still manage to obtain success here after going through a lot of obstacles- New York would be fantastic if the gov't got out of the way.
I guess people from other countries have a view of America as a "capitalist country" and thus New York, being our most symbolic city, associated with Wall Street, big business etc. might seem like a good example of free markets in action but that's simply fantasy. I lived there for two years and while it's an incredible place to live, even as a student not involved in a lot of economic activity I could see the dead hand of government parasitism making everything worse off.
In Rothbard's For A New Liberty he gives a lot of good examples of government intervention in NYC making the city far worse. There's an audio version on the site, and they probably have it in PDF, though it's definitely worth owning if you aren't to strapped for cash. Check it out if you want some specifics on NYC interventionism, though most of it happened in the 70's and 80's I believe. Especially revealing is the NYC government's crackdown on private philanthropy to pave the way for useless welfare programs.
Extremes of wealth and poverty are part of the human condition, following from the fact that humans do not have equal abilities. However, the tendency of the free market over time is to raise all living standards. Poor people do not starve to death involuntarily in the US because people can still generate enough wealth after taxes that they don't stop producing. The point your friends are ignoring is that government welfare is completely dependent upon the free market. Without a free market to generate tax revenues to fund welfare, then everybody just becomes a government dependent and the economy shuts down. No welfare for anyone, at that point. Government is wholly parasitic on free economic activity.
New York hasn't been even close to a free market since the Fed was founded in 1913 (the main bank is in New York right?).
If you try to trick the market, it will get its revenge.
Solreyus
Fred Furash: New York hasn't been even close to a free market since the Fed was founded in 1913 (the main bank is in New York right?).
Yeah part of what I was driving at is that Wall Street and the Fed are sometimes taken as pop-culture symbols of the free market by people who aren't well versed in the reality of such institutions. That might be why some people have the impression that NY is a perfect example of the free market at work.
Most of the people begging for money on the streets are mentally ill, drug addicts, or frauds.
When people nag you with such arguments, always throw it back to them by saying it is the government's fault. It won't change their mind, but it's fun to make them squirm trying to prove to you that you're wrong instead of the usual way.
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Also its important to note that the majority of people that live in New York's most affulent areas- like Manhattan are foreigners. Why? Because Americans cannot afford the rent in these places- let alone actually buying an apartment.
one of the many things I really hate about new york are the young and healthy people asking for money inside the subway cars, it is really irritating!!
and most of them are black people!! why is that?!?
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