{"id":90,"date":"2025-05-29T07:55:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T11:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?p=90"},"modified":"2025-05-29T07:55:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T11:55:52","slug":"scarcity-in-the-sanctuary-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/05\/29\/scarcity-in-the-sanctuary-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","title":{"rendered":"Scarcity in the Sanctuary \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The economist Thomas Sowell wrote, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DrThomasSowell\/photos\/a.218415079034018\/466975790844611\/?type=3\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">&#8220;The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it.&#8221; He then adds, &#8220;The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.\u201d<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0 Nevertheless, the real world inevitably intrudes on na\u00efve political promises, or as Sowell points out: \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.azquotes.com\/quote\/1335238\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Reality is not optional<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Economic reality trumping political aspiration is playing out in New York City (NYC). New York is inundated with foreign migrants because judges mandated that New York provide migrant housing on demand, and New York politicians proclaimed it a sanctuary city. NYC\u2019s City Hall recently announced that to provide housing for these newcomers, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/new-york-city-to-cut-overtime-pay-for-nypd-other-departments-in-response-to-migrant-crisis\/?utm_source=email&amp;utm_medium=breaking&amp;utm_campaign=newstrack&amp;utm_term=32673232\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cNew York City will cut overtime pay for its police officers and three other agencies to help reduce costs driven by the city\u2019s unprecedented migrant crisis.\u201d <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Opportunity costs are real.<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">How did the Big Apple get into this predicament? A recent study from the Manhattan Institute explains that in 1938, New York State established a constitutional right to <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201caid, care and support of the needy\u2026 provided by the state \u2026and\u2026 its subdivisions.\u201d<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0 Although it was the state legislature&#8217;s responsibility to parse out the details of this mandate, the actual responsibility has fallen to the courts prodded by social justice activists. In 1979, the New York State Supreme Court decided in <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Callahan v. Carey <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">that the New York State Constitution implied a duty to provide shelter to homeless single men. The city negotiated a consent decree in 1981, agreeing to such a provision. Further court cases have extended this right to others, including recent refugees. The Manhattan Institute writes that various court rulings prioritize newcomers relative to longer-term New Yorkers with a more established residency history.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To many, helping needy refugees is a simple issue of right versus wrong, compassion versus callous disregard. However, offering aid without the capacity to assist is not virtuous, and insisting that someone else pay for one\u2019s promise is not praiseworthy. Sowell notes that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brainyquote.com\/quotes\/thomas_sowell_392884\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">giving decision-making authority to people who pay no price for being wrong is dangerous<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Daniel Di Martino, a recent immigrant from Venezuela and one of the authors of the Manhattan Institute study, said, &#8220;on the altar of unlimited compassion, we risk sacrificing the very prosperity these migrants hope to achieve. The United States\u2014much less New York City\u2014cannot guarantee shelter for all the world\u2019s oppressed.&#8221;\u00a0 Thomas Sowell is right; reality is not optional.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The economist Thomas Sowell wrote, &#8220;The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it.&#8221; He then adds, &#8220;The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.\u201d\u00a0 Nevertheless, the real world inevitably intrudes on na\u00efve political promises, or as Sowell points [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[795],"tags":[147,524,907,905,901,902,900,906,904,49,908,903,609,899],"class_list":["post-90","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-immigration","tag-economics","tag-economist","tag-manhattan-institute","tag-migrant-crisis","tag-migrants","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-opportunity-cost","tag-police-officer","tag-politics","tag-refugees","tag-sanctuary-city","tag-scarcity","tag-thomas-sowell"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - 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