The Central Planning Mentality Encapsulated

Jesse Walker | 12.17.2010 11:23 AM

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West Texas 14 years ago

I'd just let private bus companies keep buying buses until the line at the bus stop disappeared.
Old Mexican 14 years ago

"If we don't know how many people we have, how do we know how many buses we need?"

It's called "THE PRICE SYSTEM", ya dolts!
Old Mexican 14 years ago

The Central Planning Mentality Encapsulated

SOCIALISM CAN'T CALCULATE.

http://mises.org/humanaction/chap26sec1.asp
Ray Eckhart 14 years ago

In the same vein, check out this Washington Post article - DC Metro officials lamenting that there are too many unfilled bus driver positions:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....02760.html

"Metro has a critical shortage of hundreds of bus drivers needed not only to operate buses but also to fill vacancies in the ranks of train operators and rail station managers, and it will take at least two years to close the gap, senior Metro officials said."
Left my wallet in El Segundo 14 years ago

If we don't know how many people we have, how do we know how many buses we need?

You probably need a sufficient supply of buses to meet demand, regardless of population...

I wonder how cab companys have survived all these years without access to essential population data, demographics, and race statistics?
1. The Gobbler 14 years ago
  
  Regulation. ;0)
Alan Vanneman 14 years ago

Isn't the requirement for taking a Census written in the Constitution, Jesse? I mean, did the Founders screw up, again?
1. Episiarch 14 years ago
  
  Who hit you, Alan? Who?!?
  1. Alan Vanneman 14 years ago
    
    Sharon Stone. She hit me with the truth. And now I have the crabs to show for it.
    1. Old Mexican 14 years ago
      
      You can't handle the truth!
      
      Or the crabs, for that matter!
      1. Alan Vanneman 14 years ago
        
        I did handle the truth, and it was awesome, not to mention sweeter than honey. And yeah, I did get crabs on my tonsils, but it was totally worth it.
2. West Texas 14 years ago
  
  I think his point is that the census is being used for purposes other than that for which it was envisioned, which is congressional representation and the electoral college.
  
  I'm pretty sure that Madison would have laughed at the notion that participation in the federal census would be necessary for state and municipal governments to provide services.
  1. West Texas 14 years ago
    
    Which are. Which are.
    1. David 14 years ago
      
      Embryonic central planners are everywhere.
  2. Mike Laursen 14 years ago
    
    And the point is that knowing how many people there are doesn't tell you at all how many buses you need, or what their routes should be.
    1. wylie 14 years ago
      
      "We need the census to figure out how many schools to build."
      
      Because using enrollment data would just be too simple. Same thing for buses...or, hell, ANY service or product.
3. Old Mexican 14 years ago
  
  Re: Alan Vanneman,
  
  Isn't the requirement for taking a Census written in the Constitution, Jesse?
  
  Which only serves to obviate the question someone obviously paid with money stolen from the population at bayonet point.
4. Anal Vanneman 14 years ago
  
  STOP SPELLING MY NAME WRONG!
Trespassers W 14 years ago

Yup, that was pretty much my thought upon seeing that ad for the first time.
James Ard 14 years ago

At least it's buses they're talking about and not trains. Rails encapsulate central planning better than anything.
1. Dagny Taggart 14 years ago
  
  Tell me about it.
2. Dagny Taggart 14 years ago
  
  Tell me about it.
3. Dagny Taggart 14 years ago
  
  Tell me about it.
P Brooks 14 years ago

Never mind the buses; how many bunks, in how many re-education camps do we need?
1. Obama 14 years ago
  
  I'm working on those figures and will get back to you with your bunk number shortly.
Kool 14 years ago

oooh, ooooh, fill-in-the-blank friday fun?

Ok, I'll play:
Enemies/Bullets
or
Commies/Bullets
or
cops/donuts
or...
cops/bullets?
1. DADIODADDY 14 years ago
  
  pussies/dicks
2. Colin77 14 years ago
  
  Free thinkers/Re-education camps
  Bourgeoisie/Bullets
3. Anal Vanneman 14 years ago
  
  This is where Kool works:
  
  http://www.heylittledick.com
4. The Dan 14 years ago
  
  dogs/cops
Ray 14 years ago

If we don't know how many buses we have, how do we know how many people we need?
Brendan 14 years ago

If the buses are too crowded, we need more buses.

If the buses are mostly empty, we need fewer buses.
1. Old Mexican 14 years ago
  
  Re: Brendan,
  
  If the buses are too crowded, we need more buses.
  
  If the buses are "too crowded," you need to raise your prices.
  
  If the buses are mostly empty, we need fewer buses.
  
  If the buses are mostly empty, you either lower your prices or you sell off some buses.
  
  Just saying "We need more buses or less buses" is still guessing at how many. The price system is extremely MORE accurate than that.
  1. Free Rider 14 years ago
    
    Besides, I want a pony not a bus.
  2. Thom 14 years ago
    
    You're also oversimplifying it. If the buses are too crowded then you either need to buy more buses or increase your prices. Or possibly buy more buses and decrease your prices. With a little analysis, your average bus company will be able to figure it out.
    1. LarryA 14 years ago
      
      With a little analysis, your average bus company will be able to figure it out.
      
      Reminder: Your average bus company is run by the government.
2. Provocateur 14 years ago
  
  If there are more people than busses, we need to shoot some o the people.
Old Mexican 14 years ago

Socialism can't calculate.
Socialism can't calculate.
Socialism can't calculate.
Socialism can't calculate.

And people still say "oh, 'we' need more of [fill in the blank]", as if that person somehow knew what "we" want.
1. Tncm 14 years ago
  
  Silly Old Mexican, haven't you been listening to Tony? Ludwig von Mises' criticism of socialist calculation was published a really long time ago, like, in the 1920s or something, so therefore it isn't true. Right? Right?
  
  No. Not right.
Pro Libertate 14 years ago

Rats. I should've told the Census that I had fifty thousand kids.
1. wylie 14 years ago
  
  FUCKING BREEDERS!!!
  
  whoops, wrong thread.
Michael 14 years ago

If Steve Jobs doesn't know how many people we have, how does he know how many iPhones we need?
1. Mike Laursen 14 years ago
  
  He doesn't have to. He just uses his reality-distorting will on us.
Joe M 14 years ago

I bitched about this vehemently to everyone I knew about six months ago, because yeah, it is the distilled concrescence of all central planner thought processes.
Tulpa 14 years ago

We need as many buses as it takes to keep all transit union members gainfully employed.

At least that seems to be the philosophy of the Pittsburgh Port Authority.
Robert 14 years ago

I worked on the 2010 US census and was amused by those ads too. They even put the ads back up this fall after the work was done!

Seems like they picked the worst possible examples, huh? Not only are there much easier and more appropriate ways to measure bus crowding & utiliz'n, but also it'd be ridiculous to wait for a decennial census to get the data.

Obviously the p.r. people at the Census Bureau are not that stupid. This is one of those cases where they mmust've been charged with finding messages for ads that would be the least controversial and have the least chance of reminding people of controversy. The things census data are really used for would be the sorts of things that would set some people's teeth on edge -- principally setting out turf for those good-for-nothing state & federal legislators -- so the ad people took one for the team by making themselves look like idiots rather than by making themselves look smart while fueling controversy.
Peter 14 years ago

I understand the criticism of central planning, but the free market wouldn't even consider transportation a "need" at all and would thus guarantee a portion of the population will go without access to a bus system.

A free market ensures some will go without. Central planning doesn't guarantee access, but at least it offers the possibility despite its drawbacks.

Who wants the free market to decide who gets water for hygiene and hydration?
1. LarryA 14 years ago
  
  I understand the criticism of central planning, but the free market wouldn't even consider transportation a "need" at all and would thus guarantee a portion of the population will go without access to a bus system.
  
  1) Except for major cities 95% of the population wouldn't use a bus system even if it was available. In many major cities non-ridership is probably only 90%.
  2) Most major cities with public transportation systems must also have stringent rules prohibiting the free market from setting up more efficient transportation systems.
  1. Peter 14 years ago
    
    Putting aside buses specifically, do you think some sort of public transportation option should be available alongside free market options?
2. scape 14 years ago
  
  the free market wouldn't even consider transportation a "need"
  
  Trek, Yellow Cab, Greyhound and Southwest Airlines would disagree.
  
  a portion of the population will go without access to a bus system
  
  There's no difference whether it's public or private. Population densities make it economically unfeasible to offer convenient service to all.
  
  Who wants the free market to decide who gets water
  
  The free market allocates food, clothing and shelter pretty well, why the worry about water? Actually, about 20% of water is provided by private companies. It would be much higher if public utilities weren't already in place.
3. domoarrigato 14 years ago
  
  who wants an oppressive incompetant government agency run by career bureaucrats with no idea what people need to decide who gets clean water?
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The Central Planning Mentality Encapsulated

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