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http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/08/the-fear-tax.html

by Seth Godin


The fear tax

Here\'s what happens as a result of security theater at the Orlando
airport:
You wait in line at least twenty minutes
There\'s a scrum of pushing and shoving
The staff are unhappy and not afraid to share it
An unreasonable workload leads to fatigue and errors
People miss their flights

Here\'s what doesn\'t happen:
Security is not increased
Peace of mind is not enhanced

In other words, we\'re paying a significant tax (time and money) and
getting nothing in return. In fact, we get worse than nothing. We could
call it an anxiety program, instead of a tax. (After all, when you pay a
luxury tax, you get some hard-won luxury as part of the deal).

The reason the TSA keeps changing the rules is not because the rules work,
but because changing the rules creates more anxiety (for bad guys, they
say, but for us too).

Another example: the MBA. A lot of entrepreneurs get an MBA because they
are afraid to go out into world without one. They are seeking the
reassurance a credential will bring them, even though the cost is huge and
there\'s no data to indicate that they\'ll be more successful as an
entrepreneur as a result.

We pay the fear tax every time we spend time or money seeking reassurance.
We pay it twice when the act of seeking that reassurance actually makes us
more anxious, not less.

We pay the tax when we cover our butt instead of doing the right thing,
and we pay the tax when we take away someone\'s dignity because we\'re
afraid. 

We should quantify the tax. The government should publish how much of our
money they\'re spending to create fear and then spending to (apparently)
address fear. Corporations should add to their annual reports how much they
spent just-in-case. Once we know how much it costs, we can figure out if
it\'s worth it.

Instead of seeking out gatekeepers and critics and others that demand we
get the broom of the wicked witch, perhaps we should just publish our work.
The tax is too high.

Instead of forgetting about the wasted anxiety after the fact, perhaps we
ought to keep a log of how often we needlessly pay the fear tax.

Instead of over-staffing, over-planning, over-meeting and over-analyzing,
perhaps organizations should take lower-cost steps and actually ship.

Think about how much you could get done if you didn\'t have to pay a tax
to amplify or mollify your fear...