Public Opinion is a Transaction Cost
Published by the Libertarian Christian Institute
The root of this op-ed was a retrospective look at the COVID-19 shortages the US experienced. That event had baffled me for a while. How could a functioning market economy experience shortages like that? It shouldn’t have been possible.
The answer to that question, I now believe, is “the public.”
More aptly, the US experienced those shortages because of what “the people” (at least, the vocal people) demanded of firms at the time. Public opinion has quickly become an important factor in the US economy. From concert tickets to grocery stores and the elusive “shrinkflation,” the pricing opinion of the vocal public has taken center stage, imposing new costs to transact and exchange in the economy.
My thoughts on public opinion, the newest transaction cost.
Thank you to the Libertarian Christian Institute for providing me a platform for this piece.
