Closing checklist: five questions for any promise
DRAFT. This checklist is not final.
Use these on any promise about city money, from anyone. The ideas in the right column come from Sowell's work as described by his publishers Unverified12345. They are questions, not verdicts.
| # | Question | Sowell idea | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Is there a funding source? | Scarcity: money is limited, and every choice gives something up. | Lesson 1 |
| 2 | Is it one-time or ongoing? | "And then what?": look past the first effect to the later ones. | Lesson 3 |
| 3 | Who pays, per person? | Who bears the cost, and which number you choose (per person, per household) changes the story. | Lesson 4, Lesson 6 |
| 4 | What gets cut instead? | Trade-offs: choosing one thing means giving up another. Also: what does the price or rate tell people? | Lesson 1, Lesson 5 |
| 5 | Where is it in the budget or packet? | Judge by results and incentives, not only goals. You can only check what is written down. Also see Who decides?. | Lesson 2 |
Two more habits. Ask "how will we know it worked?" and "who decides?" Unverified1.
← Lesson 6 · Back to the section
This is unofficial education, not legal or financial advice.
Sources cited on this page
- Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy (5th ed., 2014; first edition 2000), Thomas Sowell Publisher's catalog page. We rely on the publisher's description (it says the book shows how to critique economic policies by the incentives they create rather than the goals they proclaim). We have not checked page text and quote nothing from the book. ↗
- Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One (revised ed., 2008; first edition 2004), Thomas Sowell Publisher's catalog page. We rely on the publisher's description (it says the book examines policies not only by their immediate effects but also by their later repercussions). We have not checked page text and quote nothing from the book. ↗
- Economic Facts and Fallacies (2nd ed., 2011; first edition 2008), Thomas Sowell Publisher's catalog page. We rely on the publisher's description (it lists fallacies about urban problems, income differences and other topics). We have not checked page text and quote nothing from the book. ↗
- The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy (1995), Thomas Sowell Google Books catalog record (paperback listed as 1996). We rely on the catalog description and public discussion of the book's trade-off theme. We have not checked page text and quote nothing from the book. ↗
- A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles (1987; revised ed., 2007), Thomas Sowell Publisher's catalog page for the 2007 Basic Books edition. We rely on the publisher's description of the "constrained" and "unconstrained" visions. We have not checked page text and quote nothing from the book. ↗
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