幫手孭鑊啦喂! (揚帆會)

我中六時,曾參加由仁愛堂舉辦的環保比賽。其中一項目,是收集同學午膳的廚餘,作堆肥之用。我本已跟校工商量妥善,幸得其中一位提醒,我才發現根本未跟老師遘溝通。我本只打算通知負責老師,豈料他要求我向專責課外老師咨詢,其後該老師又把我轉介至另一位老師。結果我成了人球,而跟老師交際往返間,截止日期己逼在眉睫,我只好另行打算。

此後,我深深體會到人多,未必好辦事。當各人的職責越拆越小,一件簡單的事,可能就不同人負責。而由於各人都避免孭鑊,所以眾人都會缷責,諉過於其他人,結困一事無成。而人越多,分工越小,這種情況就越大機會發生。

這種粗淺的的道理,候任特首梁振英不可能不懂。可是,他仍堅持推出五司十四局。在原本己臃腫的問責團隊上架床疊屋。他宣稱,此舉能重整架構,提升行政效率。但這理由,實難以令人信服。以梁特首一直大力提倡的復建居屋為例,請問當初推行「居者有其屋 」計劃時,運輸及房屋局成立了嗎?既然原先的架構行之有效,又何需在其之上另行增補?當梁特首宣稱的理由與實際行動不符,我們只另作解釋。

如上文提及,當政出多門,缷責的機會越容易發生。梁振英的民望,是歷代候任特首中最低,加上他的政綱,與現任特首,有頗大分別。當社會激烈反彈時,擴大問責團隊,令他有更多人選替他孭鑊。又或者,將來有施政失誤時,由政府分工己已更為細緻,可以預期,該失誤將涉及不同的政策局,屆時政府大有可能召開專責委員會,把各部門各打五十大板,以「集體負責」之了結。「 集體負責」淪為「集體缷責」。

我們並不需要一個集體缷責的政府,我們不願見到政府年花千萬,聘請不同人士,專責孭鑊。所以我們贊成小政府。只有精簡架構,使得人盡其才,才能提高施政效率。只有精簡架構,才能使各官員各司其職,為其施政負責。只有這樣,才能使「缷責制」變回「問責制 」。

羅繼堯 (獅子山學會 2012年暑期實習)

Economists' favorite economists

List of economists' favorite economists. Thanks for the ht Greg Mankiw.

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/05/poll-of-economists.html

Mozilla defies DHS, will not remove Mafiaa Fire add-on

From, PC World, http://bit.ly/mA0oAQ, "The open-source Mozilla project said Thursday it won't comply with a
U.S. Department of Homeland Security request to remove a Firefox add-on that helps redirect Web traffic for sites that have been seized by the government. At issue is the Mafiaa Fire add-on, designed to reduce the effectiveness of an antipiracy campaign by DHS's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division.  When users try to visit a website whose Internet domain has been seized by ICE, Mafiaa Fire redirects them to a working site set up to replace the seized domain."

Payback Time

Research Associate Nicole Alpert and Director Dan Ryan are interviewed in Gafencu Men Issue May 2011 in "Payback Time" on the Government's recent handouts. Read more at http://bit.ly/iplohW

Antitrust - "I know what you are but what am I?"

Antitrust - companies play the game "I know what you are, but what am I?"


Business Insider looks at antitrust with Apple now fighting, filing against Samsung. Note that Mom said, "don't do to others what you wouldn't want them to do to you" from Confucian theory of ethics (early variant of the Golden Rule):

己所不欲，勿施於人。
"What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others."

 子貢問曰：“有一言而可以終身行之者乎”？子曰：“其恕乎！己所不欲、勿施於人。”

Zi gong (a disciple of Confucius) asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout life?" The Master replied: "How about 'shu' [reciprocity]: never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself?" Analects XV.24, tr. David Hinton

Now everyone is getting in the game. It's looking more and more like how George Bittlingmayer explained antitrust in The Antitrust Emperor’s Clothes.

The Social Network's famed Winklevoss' lose Facebook fight

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski: "The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace."




Think about the increase in litigation that will be seen once competition law is under way.

Eldery in smuggling

Last issue, Best Practice published a story about the dangers of smuggling and how government policy affects the rates and dangers of citizens involvement. Since last year, there have been many cases of families, children, and Today, media reports emerged that customs is having a difficult time catching illicit cigarettes across the border, cases in which the elderly are involved as the smuggler. If caught, the fines are very serious, fines and jail time. It's also been found that smugglers took extra advantage of the current environment, smuggling other items such as milk powder and red wine. The elderly smugglers, who carry out about 10 packs, might receive HKD$120-150 for each trip made - it's small money, but the history of the prohibition and other bans teaches us that whenever the government attempts to alter supply, "in the absence of perfect enforcement, a class of criminals will emerge who bypass the government’s control and profit from artificially reduced competition."


It's abominable that these these "criminals" turn out to be Gong gong and Po po. On a lighter note:
 

When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren from Billy Crystal