Decentralization For The Greatest Good

When many rules have centralized origins - especially in large populous nations such as the U.S. - governments struggle to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of citizens via taxation. The fact that utilitarian outcomes aren't easy to come by for diverse populations, helps explain why policy makers of opposing parties have become less willing to compromise. So why do we insist on imposing the same sets of requisite rules and standards on everyone? Why can't our economic freedoms be more closely associated with the possibilities of economic diversity, so that all citizens might live in settings where they can create good lives for themselves and others around them?

Nevertheless, one may take comfort, in the fact rigid expectations are nothing new. People have attempted to impose one size fits all regulations and social requirements on one another for a long time. For instance, even though Walden was published in 1854, Henry David Thoreau details how the social expectations around housing, contributed to the impoverishment of many in his time:

Most men appear never to have considered what a house is, and are actually though needlessly poor all their lives because they think that they must have such a one as their neighbors have. As if one were to wear any sort of coat which the tailor might cut out for him, or, gradually leaving off palmleaf hat or cap of woodchuck skin, complain of hard times because he could not afford to buy him a crown! It is possible to invent a house still more convenient and luxurious than we have, which yet all would admit that man could not afford to pay for. Shall we always study to obtain more of these things, and not sometimes to be content with less? Shall the respectable citizen thus gravely teach, by precept and example, the necessity of the young man's providing a certain number of superfluous glowshoes, and umbrellas, and empty guest chambers for empty guests, before he dies? 

Sometimes, societies impose such standards as a way to exclude others who they believe cannot adequately contribute to the needs of given communities. The problem however, is that more communities aren't created with infrastructure which accurately reflects what many individuals could contribute to the well being of all concerned, given the chance. Where, exactly, are excluded individuals and groups expected to go, especially when there are few domestic markets competing via product innovation, to enrich the production potential of lower income levels? And why haven't such individuals already gained the economic freedom to create anew for themselves, what many institutions have proven reluctant to provide?

Social expectations around housing requirements in particular, have proven especially harmful for the bottom 50% of working adults in the U.S. without sufficient income to live where reliable work can readily be found Even though lower income levels have been losing real wage capacity for decades, we have scarcely begun to discuss supply side approaches which could lead to more positive outcomes.

Alas, no one can realistically pretend that trends for low pay work will be reversed soon. We need economic options which allow us to bypass the sticky markets of today's extensive non tradable sector requirements, so that low wages will go much further than is presently feasible. Decentralized local settings which more accurately reflect what small incomes are capable of, could give millions new hope. Such settings would have far more ability than any centralized government, to create the greatest good for the greatest number of citizens. Defined equilibrium for housing, infrastructure and services would also make use of limited regulatory patterns, for groups which find mutual assistance a way to improve the well being of all concerned.

Consider as well that when it comes to housing, one need not classify Thoreau's housing sentiments as anti-materialistic. It's one thing to disavow material possessions in order to seek other time use options, yet altogether another to disavow certain forms of consumption which many individuals can't realistically afford in the first place. Life is much easier when we can accept such realities and move on, instead of having to constantly struggle with income differences in the face of one size fits all regulatory absurdities. People should be able to make low cost choices where desired, yet still have plenty of local economic options to lead meaningful and respectable lives.

A supply side approach would allow us to take the focus off struggles concerning aggregate demand and government "solutions". Doing so is all the more important, since governments hold considerable responsibility for the centralized consumption regulatory barriers which impact the lives of low income groups. Let's build decentralized settings where non discretionary costs might finally come within reach, of millions who seek to make the most of the resources they actually have available.