And both are a function of size rather than government.
Joel Send a noteboard - 14/10/2011 11:08:53 AM
As you alluded to in your link title. That leaves us back at debating whether a service should be largely available at all, not who should provide it. If the answer is "yes, it should be largely available" then centralization optimizes whatever economies or diseconomies of scale are inherent in that; the reference you and others have made to 49 left hands not knowing what the right one is doing are prime examples of the communication costs and duplicated effort the Wikipedia article blames for diseconomy of scale. It is probably unavoidable in a federal bureaucracy, but maintaing 50 state bureucracies to provide the same public service intentionally exacerbates it. The factors responsible are diseconomies inherent to the scale of those USING, not PROVIDING, the service, but the greater economy of scale in a federal provider reduces those factors below what they would be in 50 state providers. Likewise, the problem of too many chiefs and not enough indians is multiplied fifty-fold when one tribe with one chief is divided into 50 tribes with 50 chiefs. The remaining example from the Wikipedia article is politics but, politics is obviously inherent in any political system so, once again, replacing one federal system with 50 state ones only multiplies rather than reducing the problem.
Federal centralization has flaws, but to far less a degree than those same flaws exist in attempts to meet national needs through myriad state and local governments. When a good or service is a local rather than national concern, it naturally makes sense to address it at that level rather than creating a federal bureaucracy to manage citrus agriculture largely confined to about ten states. When a good or service is a marginal concern at every level it is hard to justify as a community concern justifying tax expenditures at any level. Otherwise, national concerns, however, are naturally and justifiably addressed at the national level, so that economies of scale in supply reduce the diseconomies of scale in demand as much as possible.
Federal centralization has flaws, but to far less a degree than those same flaws exist in attempts to meet national needs through myriad state and local governments. When a good or service is a local rather than national concern, it naturally makes sense to address it at that level rather than creating a federal bureaucracy to manage citrus agriculture largely confined to about ten states. When a good or service is a marginal concern at every level it is hard to justify as a community concern justifying tax expenditures at any level. Otherwise, national concerns, however, are naturally and justifiably addressed at the national level, so that economies of scale in supply reduce the diseconomies of scale in demand as much as possible.
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Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!

LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
States and Federal Government
13/10/2011 05:08:14 AM
- 571 Views
No.
13/10/2011 05:59:07 AM
- 357 Views
Re: No.
13/10/2011 07:07:14 AM
- 346 Views
Re: No.
13/10/2011 01:59:58 PM
- 336 Views
Economy of scale applies to every private bureaucracy, but not government ones.
13/10/2011 06:53:44 PM
- 326 Views

of course economy of scale applies just like diseconomy of scale
13/10/2011 10:38:45 PM
- 384 Views
And both are a function of size rather than government.
14/10/2011 11:08:53 AM
- 408 Views
you can do it with block grants
13/10/2011 06:13:48 AM
- 316 Views
Believing the states can't do it, is not the same as saying the states will be less efficent or more *NM*
13/10/2011 06:42:34 AM
- 129 Views
Medicaid is already state-managed
13/10/2011 06:22:54 AM
- 419 Views

I pretty much agree with this
13/10/2011 02:03:04 PM
- 323 Views
It may still be a better option though, but I wouldn't consider it a likely great success story
13/10/2011 09:23:16 PM
- 409 Views
No I do not believe they do could do Medicare or Social Security more effectively *NM*
13/10/2011 06:41:03 AM
- 134 Views
Care to elaborate? *NM*
13/10/2011 06:55:21 AM
- 157 Views
Would you rather have 50 insurance companies with different pay structures or 1?
14/10/2011 02:14:23 AM
- 333 Views
If programs to ensure federal citizen rights were divided among the states it would invite disparity
13/10/2011 06:50:02 PM
- 396 Views
<Type Random Subject Here>
13/10/2011 09:55:04 PM
- 333 Views
Because some things do not matter much with geography and culture
14/10/2011 02:20:04 AM
- 315 Views
Yet again I must disagree
14/10/2011 05:04:43 AM
- 333 Views
Think about fire, how much need will Alaska have for fire trucks? *NM*
14/10/2011 12:30:05 PM
- 131 Views
Some issues are exclusively local and best handled there, as are some resources.
14/10/2011 11:22:46 AM
- 339 Views
The first thought that came to mind.....
13/10/2011 08:55:36 PM
- 335 Views
Depends on the state and its legislators, doesn't it? But, generally, no. *NM*
14/10/2011 06:50:13 PM
- 134 Views
Pick your rapist and tell me why it makes a damn bit of difference. *NM*
15/10/2011 05:06:50 PM
- 142 Views