Tom the Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling for July 23, 2015
Transcript:
Enjoy this Classic Tom the Dancing Bug Every Thursday Vintage 1990 Panels from the annals of the Tom the Dancing Bug archive Check back every Friday for a fresh, brand new Tom the Dancing Bug! Tom the Dancing Bug 25th Anniversary Tom the Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling Tales of the Inefficient A deserted waterfront in the small hours of the morning, one can almost feel the impending violence in the cold, still air... Suddenly, there are the muffled sounds of an attack! Man: Step out wit' my girl, will ya? Until... Masked Man: HOLD! I'm here to stop this heinous and suboptimal act!! Man: ? Man: Oh, yeah? What's a little twerp like you gonna do to stop me?! Masked Man: I'm afraid I don't need brute force to stop you, sir! Masked Man: I need only inform you (A) that my witnessing this event appreciably raises the probability of your getting caught and convicted by the criminal justice system... Masked Man: ...and (B) that judges are now harsher in their sentencing than past years! You know what that does to your internal cost/ benefit calculus don't you?! Man: GASP!! Both p and f have been raised! Why, now PB<p*f! Masked Man: Correct! And now, if you're a rational wealth maximizer... Man: And I've always fancied myself one... Masked Man: ...you've no choice but to desist! Man: Alright, alright! You've won, masked guy! 1987 Ruben Bolling Masked Man: Unless, of course, you bargain with your intended victim, coming to a pareto-preferred outcome! Man: Hey, that's right! Um...can I kill you for...50 bucks? Man #2: Hmm...how much cash you got on you...?
To an economist, we’re all rational maximizers of benefit to ourselves.(Political agitators laugh at that. They know that many people can be convinced to vote against their own interests just to keep those “other people” from possibly benefiting.)