Structure and Systems Make a Difference

An article in the NY Times today reported this:

The Long Island Index, which is financed by the Rauch Foundation, a nonprofit group, compared per capita spending in Nassau and Suffolk Counties with that in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in northern Virginia.

While the regions have similar demographics, housing prices and population densities, Long Island has a total of 239 counties, cities, towns, villages and school districts (and another 200 special districts), compared with the two northern Virginia counties, which have 17.

The extra layers, as well as more higher personnel costs, are a big reason local governments on Long Island spent $15.5 billion in 2002, more than triple what the two counties in Virginia spent.

Long Island residents spent $5,562 per capita for public services, 45 percent more than in the two Virginia counties.

But to the surprise of the study’s authors, 88 percent of those surveyed in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties said, for example, that services provided by police officers, firefighters and teachers were good or excellent, while on Long Island the figure was 75 percent."

It's inconvenient for libertarians, who believe the smallest and most local government is the least worst government.