work: equality vs efficiency

today, my university economics tutor, the brilliant Kevin Wu, talked about tradeoffs in economics

and it particularly piqued my interest because it reminded me of my job

as a contractor for an energy company

Now essentially, life is all about analyzing the options in our life and choosing what we perceive as better for us

however, every choice we make would inevitably lead to an opportunity cost

for example, the decision to have a girlfriend results in the loss of the benefits that accompany being single

or the decision to increase spending on defence results in cutbacks for education

the most ultimate tradeoff which confronts governments is how much they're willing to intervene in society

do they increase regulation thereby resulting in a more equal society albeit less efficient?

or do they allow for the invisible hand to dictate market forces thereby making it less equitable

regardless, there are costs and benefits for everything we do in life

now, my job highlights the pitfall the government made in order to be more equal or equitable

in response to the carbon tax, the looming energy crisis and general paranoia about global warming

the government has implemented a scheme to install free energy saving powerboards to every australian household

these products ensure that houses dont waste energy during the night as they automatically turn off tv's and appliances while you sleep

now the product which is dubbed "ambertech" was an instant success as they embodied the best of both worlds

consumers were attracted to their highly competitive prices or more so lack of price and plus it saved money in the long term.

the demand for it was so great that in a couple of months, the entire ambertec stock ran out

in order to plug this demand, the government hired another energy company (which i work at) to design their own device to give to australian households

the problem lies in the fact that this newly designed product is nowhere near as good as ambertec

its somewhat faulty, not very user-friendly and a general annoyance to many customers

and sometimes, customers even switch back to their original energyboards after its installation

yet, since its retail value is 65 dollars, consumers are still attracted to any device that is labelled "Free"

because after all, there are no strings attatched

now this government policy to save energ, save the planet and yall the sustainability shizz through the use of these alternative power boards

although well intentioned is relatively fruitless,

who do you think are paying for the devices

there is no such thing as a free lunch, ultimately the money to fund these seemingly free powerboards are siphoned from taxes

although we may waste energy from that standby power on the tv, the bigger waste may be this product that the government gives with no conditions to australian residents

since the product isnt up to scratch, no one is actually sure how many australians use it to its full capacity

so what happened with this policy is that the government in their drive for equity has greatly tarnished the euqally important goal for efficiency

and i dont think the trade-off is worth it

the money that are used to fund these powerboards could be diverted to hospitals or schools

but to be honest, i dont care enough to question it

after all my job depends on it

regardless, if some of you guys are out there looking for jobs, try the energy industry

its only temporary and the government will probably catch on sooner or later that this policy is not as successful as it seems in theory but hey, theres no such thing as a free lunch

as for the job itself, the pay is great, the hours are long but rewarding

but most of all

you develop the ability to talk to people you've never met before with ease, comfort and confidence

oh and ive also found out that most Vietnamese families in particular, the women, adore me ;)