“We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money.” — Energy Secretary Steven Chu, on the incandescent light bulb ban, 7-9-11
“We think it’s that it’s time for institutions, including government, to become much more user-friendly by enlisting the science of choice to make life easier for people and by gently nudging them in directions that will make their lives better…We could easily make people both wealthier and healthier by devising friendlier choice environments, or architectures…We show that by carefully designing the choice architecture, we can make dramatic improvements in the decisions people make, without forcing anyone to do anything…”–undated interview, Amazon.com, Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler on their book “Nudge”.
“Bellingham (WA) bans plastic bags” — Q13 Fox News Headline, 7/12/11
“King Co. requires life vests for swimmers, floaters” Seattle Post-Intelligencer Headline, 6/22/11
Choice architecture…seems like one of those perfectly innocuous academic ideas, doesn’t it? Sounds actually kind of cool, like if you understand the idea, then you’re probably a pretty smart person. And hey, getting people to make better choices can’t be a BAD thing can it?
The first quote seems perfectly illustrative of choice architecture. (and also the unerring arrogance of our current administration). Here’s the federal government telling it’s citizens, “Hey, you’re not smart enough to make the right decisions, so we’re going to make one of the decisions illegal.” They frame the choices until the only choices left to be made are the ones they approve of.
Just like both of the headlines I mentioned above as well.
Here in Western Washington, the nanny state seems to be in full effect. King County has decided it’s residents aren’t smart enough to wear life vests, so now they are framing the choice to the only conclusion they deem suitable, that everyone must wear life vests. If you’re found to not be wearing a life vest, BAM, $86 ticket. (Don’t make the wrong choice again, idiot..)
Bellingham, WA, home of Western Washington University (a decidedly liberal school full of eco nuts), also basically told it’s citizens, “You guys aren’t making the environmentally conscious choice here, so we’ll just eliminate the ‘environmentally unfriendly’ choices all together.” The real fun part of that story, is if customers don’t have their own bags next year and need to use paper bags, they’ll pay .05 cents for each bag needed. (Again, you dumb people refuse to see the light, so we’re gonna make the last alternative choice hit you in the pocket.)
Now, for the quote from Sunstein and Thaler. In case you were wondering why you’ve heard of Sunstein, he currently holds the post of Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. According to that Office’s website, “OIRA carries out several important functions, including reviewing Federal regulations, reducing paperwork burdens, and overseeing policies relating to privacy, information quality, and statistical programs.”
A fairly brief description saying a whole lot of nothing, but couple that with the thought of Sunstein, a man who sees people as being unable to make correct choices for themselves, and then you have a much different ballgame.
Here’s a man who’s sitting at a Federal level position, able to create and influence federal regulation at whim. A man sitting behind the scenes, visible only when a new regulation comes down from on high.
Welcome to America 2.0. Where freedom and liberty are dead, and the government makes your choices for you.
