The “benefit principle” and its problems. According to Wikipedia, the benefit principle is “a concept in the theory of taxation from public finance. It bases taxes to pay for public-goods expenditures on a politically-revealed willingness to pay for benefits received. The principle is sometimes likened to the function of prices in allocating private goods.” What are its problems though? According to Hello Vaia, “Two main drawbacks of the benefit principle of taxation are: it’s often difficult to accurately determine the level of benefits each individual receives from public services, and it may exacerbate wealth inequality as lower income earners may pay a disproportionately higher amount for services compared to higher income earners.”

The Washington Monument Syndrome. According to Wikipedia, “The Washington Monument syndrome, also known as the Mount Rushmore syndrome or the firemen first principle, is a term used to describe the phenomenon of government agencies in the United States cutting the most visible or appreciated service provided by the government when faced with budget cuts.” The Department of Interior needed to make budget cuts, so they shut down the Washington Monument knowing that the public would demand them to reopen it. 

Outcomes of anti-poverty programs. Anti-poverty programs were supposed to keep people out of poverty by giving them things. The outcome was that more people wanted to be in poverty to get free things. 

The primary problem facing a policymaker trying to design a program to benefit people in unfortunate circumstances. According to standardfusion.com, some problems facing policymakers are, “Inconsistent Document Creation and Editing, Poor Policy Maintenance, Lack of Accountability, Outdated Documents, Improper Policy Mapping.”