INEFFICIENCY: Buchwald’s Law

To Gresham’s law, Walras’ law, Parkinson’s law and Mrs. Parkinson’s law, students of the human condition can now add Buchwald’s law: As the economy gets better, everything else gets worse.

Columnist Art Buchwald hit upon his formulation after noticing that most economic indicators are pointing up. “More people are starting to travel on the airlines, which is a very good thing.” he wrote last week. “But if things keep getting better, the airports won’t be able to handle the traffic, the planes will be overbooked, luggage will be lost and the airlines will have a very good economic year.”

The price of a strong economy, Buchwald theorized, is a breakdown in the services that the economy provides. “The more refrigerators people buy, the less chance they have of getting them repaired. The more cars that are sold, the bigger pollution and traffic problems you have.”

Buchwald forecast a great economic year for 1972: “Life won’t be as bad as it was in the late ’60s when things were booming, but I predict that it will be a good enough year that people will be able to feel how miserable a healthy economy can be.”