tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698599151422542939.post8576566885391816024..comments2023-09-21T05:14:00.254-04:00Comments on Euvoluntary Exchange: Meta-EE and the Constitution Part 6: Eighth AmendmentMungowitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02340064320347875601noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698599151422542939.post-40599704072334183392013-02-26T13:36:36.915-05:002013-02-26T13:36:36.915-05:00I protested that being grounded was excessive for ...I protested that being grounded was excessive for breaking the rules the way I did. My mother responded that I was being punished for all the times I wasn't caught taking cookies from the jar.<br /><br />Since "excessive" refers to some standard, you have to wonder what the standard is. Let's allow for the moment that 20 years for pot is the precise social optimum. Anything more or less results in welfare loss. Certainly this guy caught with pot faces a harsh sentence like I did for taking a cookie, but he's paying the price for all those other guys who have pot and didn't get caught. <br /><br />We could argue that 20 years' punishment is excessive for his breach. Our ability to identify socially optimal policy notwithstanding, is it relevant that this degree of punishment maximizes social welfare?<br /><br />Excessive may be a weasel word, but worse is using it without identifying what standard you are using to determine excess.Austin Middletonnoreply@blogger.com