Bryan pointed us to: > Landsburg's column "I've Got to Admit It's Getting Better" > ... > http://slate.msn.com/economics/00-02-09/economics.asp At the end, Landsburg says, >If the AARP is powerful enough to demand a 5 percent increase and inflation >is measured at 3 percent, they'll get a 3 percent cost of living adjustment >and an additional 2 percent on some other pretense. If inflation is measured >at 4 percent, they'll get 4 percent plus 1 percent. And if inflation is >measured at 6 percent while the AARP is in a position to demand only 5 >percent, they'll get a 6 percent cost of living increase coupled with a 1 >percent cut. > I don't know how to prove that theory, but it strikes me as >self-evident. The alternative is to suppose that the entire political >system, with all its checks and balances, is in thrall to the way some >economist happens to calculate a number. I don't believe we're that powerful. I'm a big fan of Landsburg, and I would not lightly criticize the author of this list's namesake, but that strikes me as utter nonsense. Hasn't he heard of ``framing''? E.g., in Kahneman and Tversky (1981). People weigh positive and negative innovations differently. Here's another way to look at it: Why do some people insist on using the term ``pro choice'', while others are equally adamant about using ``pro life''? Isn't -(-x) the same thing as x? Evidently not. Being ``pro choice'' is not the same as being ``pro abortion''. When I worked as a congressional staffer, I was astounded by the fact that just about half the mail we received on entitlements started out with something like, ``I wish you would stop calling my Social Security an `entitlement' .'' Words matter. Rhetoric matters. Politicians pay pollsters and focus groups to gauge the effects of words. Interest groups spend money to push a particular vocabulary. It's easier to pass a bill for a ``cost-of-living adjustment for retirees'' than for a ``subsidy to people on permanent vacation.'' Cheers. Andrew. --------------------------------- Andrew Sellgren Department of Economics, MSN 3G4 George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030-4444 Tel: (703) 993-1124 Fax: (703) 993-1133 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://sellgren.gmu.edu ---------------------------------
