Do not think about, write about or deal with human behavior without determining the effects of incentives.
To my American friends on independence day. Congratulations. Although taxation without representation is revolution-worthy, taxation with representation is not much of a bargain either.
Only the New York Times could believe that not taxing something is a “subsidy”. This flows from the liberal belief that all resources belong to the government and letting people keep more of them represents a “break”.
The following case study is from the author of Anatomy of an Epidemic: Whitaker, R. (2010). Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic bullets, psychiatric drugs, and the astonishing rise of mental illness in America. New York: Crown.
“Broken Brains” and “Beautiful Minds”
Friday, July 2, 2010
“When I first interviewed Brandon Banks, in the spring of 2008, while researching Anatomy of an Epidemic, he had recently entered Elizabethtown Community College in Kentucky, with dreams of becoming a journalist. Given his medical history, which included multiple psychiatric hospitalizations, this seemed like a bold dream, and few people in his life thought he would succeed at it.”
…..
Banks went through the usual psychiatric errors such as being depressed, getting an anti-depression drug, becoming “bipolar”, being told the drug had “unmasked” the bipolar condition, ending up with a cocktail of drugs, getting off all drugs and becoming productive again. The “cocktail” is usually the end of the line because the interactions among several powerful psychoactive drugs will produce “crazy” symptoms in the most stable person. In the usual usage, these drug reactions are then regarded as further evidence of the “underlying illness” and things get worse from there.
……
“"What my life became was staying at home all day, getting up in the morning and laying my pills out on the counter, taking them, and then going back to sleep because I couldn’t stay awake if I tried. Then I would get up, play some video games, and hang out with my family," he recalls.”
……
His life after coming off drugs has continued to be successful. Interestingly, he states that without his experience with psychiatric drugs, he would try them when his mental condition takes a bad turn, but, he stays away from them because he knows the cure is worse than the “disease”.
Cheerio and ttfn,
Grant Coulson
Cui Bono–Cherchez les Contingencies
