[sustran] Vietnam -- THE FACTOR OF TEN

[eric britton]

If I may make a very brief comment on this magnificent Vietnamese proposal: the crux of the issue and something that all of us should bear in mind as we ponder ways to create more effective public policy is the proposal to multiply the fee by a FACTOR OF TEN.

Let me say that again since this is the fundamental point that I am trying to get at, and is one which will perhaps help us to understand that when it comes to using economic instruments to affect change, small increases tend to be absorbed one way or another without getting the desired results, whereas when the increase is by a FACTOR OF TEN, you truly have their attention.

How you get up that scale without necessarily shaking apart the community and government is another trick, but let us leave that for another day, important as it is.  The first lesson that the Vietnamese are giving us with their terrific proposal is that if we really mean business a factor of ten is one great way of getting the job done.

(I always knew that I loved the Vietnamese.)

Eric Britton
(Saigon now Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1967-1968)


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