Question

For each of the following separate government policies, discuss a possible unintended consequence resulted from the policy.

(a) People who are unemployed can receive money from the government.

(b) Homeless people in Seattle can receive free food from the government.

(c) People can receive money from the government if they give up and turn in their guns to the government.

Answer 1

a. A policy which ensures that unemployed individuals can receive money discourages people from getting a job. This is because many individuals would not put in effort and gain skills needed to get employed. They would prefer to be unemployed and earn money from the government. This will be a cost for the economy as the government has to bear the cost of paying for unproductive reasons.

b. An unintended consequence of this policy is that the homeless people will not look for jobs to earn income. One of the reasons that people look for jobs is to buy food and now that they are getting food and will just be satisfied with that. This will also be another expenditure that the government will have to make year after year which serves as a cost to the society.

c. This policy will induce civilians to return their guns but the criminals will not give their guns to the government. This will only increase crime rate because they civilians when attacked will not be able to defend themselves.