Great Moments in Unintended Consequences (Vol. 6)

Good intentions, bad results.

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"Great moments in unintended consequences"—when something that sounds like a great idea goes horribly wrong.

Part 1: Driving Days

The year: 1989.

The problem: Terrible air quality in Mexico City!

The Solution: Keep traffic down and improve air quality by prohibiting one out of five cars from driving each weekday, based on their license plate numbers.

Sounds like a great idea with the best of intentions. What could possibly go wrong?

Citizens got around the ban by buying a second car—often a cheaper, older, and less efficient car. Having more, crappier cars in circulation failed to fix the problem and, according to a number of studies, air pollution actually increased after the restrictions were imposed.

But not to worry, politicians saw the error of their ways and in 2008….expanded the program to include Saturdays.

Part 2: Boat Taxes

The Year: 1773.

The problem: Britain needs money!

The solution: Collect port and lighthouse fees on merchant ships based on their length and width.

Sounds like a great idea with the best of intentions. What could possibly go wrong?

It turns out people don't like paying taxes. Since ships were charged by width and length but not depth, shipbuilders maximized cargo capacity while minimizing taxes by building deep, sluggish, flat-bottomed, flat-sided vessels—a recipe for instability. While Britain's Navy was ruling the sea, their unsightly and unmanageable merchant ships were a laughingstock.

On the plus side, the taxman can't reach you on the bottom of the sea.

Part 3: Airplanes Fly Empty

The year: 2020.

The problem: A global pandemic straining the American airline industry.

The solution: A $60 billion bailout to rescue airlines and maintain continuity of service.

Sounds like a great idea with the best of intentions. What could possibly go wrong?

With concerns over COVID, air passenger rates plummeted as much as 95 percent. But since airlines were mandated to maintain a minimum level of service to qualify for the emergency government funding, airlines were forced to continue flying planes…even if there was no one on board. Voila! American skies were quickly filled with "ghost flights"—nearly empty planes crisscrossing the country so the industry could qualify for billions of taxpayer funds.

Written and produced by Meredith and Austin Bragg; additional research by Natalie Dowzicky; narrated by Austin Bragg.

[bryanboone]

"The taxman can't reach you on the bottom of the ocean."

I'm sure they will find a way.

[LaserBeamDynamite]

The year: 2022
The problem: Not enough "Great Moments in Unintended Consequences" videos

[Squadjta]

You need to make one of these each month at the minimum. I am sure the US government has made so many stupid mistakes you could have a daily, let alone weekly episodes.

[diakokh]

The license plate "solution" was also implemented in some parts of Tehran for the same reason. But buying a second car wasn't feasible for everyone. So, a new occupation was created. Some people would get paid to line up behind the car and push it pass the surveillance cameras, pretending the car is broken but really just hiding the license plate from the cameras. As a result you could always find people just walking around those areas instead of doing something worthwhile.

[dustinabc]

Re: FLIGHTS-
The airlines also have to fight the bureaucracy to win access to flight routes, so they will continue to run flights that aren't great for their economics or the environment, because if they don't use the routes as regulations require, they lose use of those routes which were difficult to obtain in the first place.

[GunMeat]

The solution with buying another car is really great !

[osmbsmy.]

I caught myself mimicking the "sounds like a great idea, with the best of intentions" not just in my head and having to explain a bit.

[avmail]

Everything in 2020-2022 was a ludicrous unintended consequence

[deecee]

Regarding the British boat and Lighthouse taxes. It also caused some lighthouses to be closed --- which got some people drowned. Also, shipments of goods from mainland europe plummeted in frequency since every boat owner waited for their ships to be "packed to the rafters" before they set sail. Many exporters from France cut their normal schedules and sailed only when packed ... resulting in one ship to England per day instead of two to four.
Love this series ---- maybe it could be renamed politicians are morons 101.

[SurrealKeenan]

Gonna be honest, I loved my ghost flights. It was so nice being able to switch seats whenever I wanted. I'll miss that

[Ryan-is-me]

"The tax man can't reach you on the bottom of the ocean"
Tax man: Hold my duty-free beer

[fearthehoneybadger]

How about shutting down domestic oil production which just caused a mammoth increase in prices and did nothing to help the environment due to supplies being acquired from other countries with terrible environmental protection laws.

[gollum]

The license plate solution was also implemented in Bogota, Colombia. The only difference is that it prohibits drivers from using their cars for literally half of the year. Additionally, several roads were closed and forcefully converted to bicycle-only spaces, and taxation for owning a vehicle increased. When challenged about the fact that car owners were being forced to pay more at the same time that their conditions were deteriorating, the mayor answered with a straight face: "well, if you do not like paying taxes, I suggest you sell your cars."

[alechenry]

I'm surprised Cash for Clunkers hasn't been mentioned in the series yet.

[senseofmindshow]

“Number 2. The problem: Britain needs money!” That’s just too good.

[Lunch_Peak]

As an airline Captain in 2020 I remember flying from Seattle to El Paso and back to Seattle one day with zero passengers onboard both flights.

[g.mantua]

Government isn't the solution, it's the problem.

[benjaminhoward]

"The tax man can't reach you on the bottom of the ocean." I gotta tell my wife we're moving.

[mrt]

We need one of these on all the COVID money that was handed out.

[fstroke]

I flew from Tucson to Denver in April, 2020 and there were 3 of us on the Southwest 737. Three.