Yes, I would say that a public funded libraries subsidizes Bob. It just that I see that as a good, and useful subsidy, as information is a non-rivalrous good.
I’m not arguing from a position of moral outrage that Wal-Mart is being unfairly advantaged by the governments funding of the interstate highway system. They do indeed just seem to be taking advantage of the current landscape. The point is that this subsidy disturbs the market for shipping, pushing it away from a global optimum. It is useful to see how the changed incentives play out and cause overconsumption, and using Wal-Mart as a prototypical example is a reasonable thing to do.
Yes, I would say that a public funded libraries subsidizes Bob. It just that I see that as a good, and useful subsidy, as information is a non-rivalrous good.
I’m not arguing from a position of moral outrage that Wal-Mart is being unfairly advantaged by the governments funding of the interstate highway system. They do indeed just seem to be taking advantage of the current landscape. The point is that this subsidy disturbs the market for shipping, pushing it away from a global optimum. It is useful to see how the changed incentives play out and cause overconsumption, and using Wal-Mart as a prototypical example is a reasonable thing to do.