If someone really wants my company's business, why shouldn't he be able to do everything he can - including paying me off - to get that business? Because bribery encourages people to make decisions based on the wrong criteria, which means in the business world that it distorts the efficient allocation of resources.
James SurowieckiThe smartest groups, then, are made up of people with diverse perspectives who are able to stay independent of each other.
James SurowieckiThe ban on sports betting does exactly what Prohibition did. It makes criminals rich.
James SurowieckiUnlike fuel-economy standards, the most common method of reducing demand for oil over the past thirty years, a gas tax doesn't tell people what kind of car to drive. It simply raises the price of gasoline and lets people adjust their behavior accordingly.
James Surowiecki