From: Kragen Sitaker (kragen@pobox.com)
Date: Fri Nov 17 2000 - 17:05:22 PST
Yangkun Zhang quotes Ed Glaeser:
> Even if hand counting is more accurate than machine counting, there
> is a clear bias introduced because Al Gore chose which counties to hand
> count.
Actually, it wasn't just Gore, or even Gore's party. Either party has
the right to request recounts. Both political parties chose which
counties to hand count.
As it turns out, the irregularities --- accidental and intentional ---
that prompted the current recounts weighed against the Democrats, not
the Republicans. If the Republicans thought there were voting
irregularities that suggested Democratic bias, they would have
requested recounts too --- just as they did in Illinois in 1960 for
Nixon's election.
> More generally, one of the principal lessons of macroeconomics is
> that rules generally work better than discretion.
Oh, obviously. That's why we humans have all been obsoleted by
intelligent computer programs, why rule-driven bureaucracy
is so much more efficient than discretion-driven markets, and
why widespread mandatory minimum sentencing has resulted in a much
fairer criminal-justice system.
I mean, geez, did this author leave his brain at home? Or does he just
expect his readers to?
--
<kragen@pobox.com> Kragen Sitaker <http://www.pobox.com/~kragen/>
Perilous to all of us are the devices of an art deeper than we ourselves
possess.
-- Gandalf the Grey [J.R.R. Tolkien, "Lord of the Rings"]
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