Originally posted by badgerprints
Originally posted by truthquest
Originally posted by PuterMan
What's the problem?
You have to pay Euro 10 to get OUT of Ireland!
The problem is that two wrongs don't make a right.
It isn't wrong to charge entry fees. The cost of customs, visas, security and other necessities when bringing people across borders isn't cheap. Some of it comes from the travelers in because it is the travelers who are necessitating the expense.
If you don't want to pay entry fees then go to countries with no entry fees.
It would be nice if I had less noise coming into my house. How about if I install a giant noise barrier, then send the bill to my neighbor. By your reasoning, that would be what I should do. But if I did that my neighbor would rightfully rebuff me by telling me where to shove the bill up into.
Customs, visas, security fees, etc, are not services for the person entering, but rather they are services for the people already there. Therefore, those are the people who should be charged for a service if they want it. If you want a service, then pay for it. Its morally wrong to have a service that you get but then *other people besides your self* are literally forced to pay for.
If I'm sent the bill for US customs services for Mexicans entering the US (which makes much more sense than the Mexicans being sent the bill since I'm the one being "helped" by US customs) my view is I should tear it up and say hell no, that does not benefit me. Travel and trade barriers are well proven to hurt economies rather than help them in every single case they are studied. Every single time. I'm tired of getting billed for all this crazy crap just because other people refuse to study reality-based economics and instead focus about 1 inch in front of their face.
Fortunately economics is in a way, simple, since free markets and open borders cause a win for everybody every single time in every single comparative study I've ever seen. Unfortunately economics is also in a way, complicated, because things are often opposite of what they seem. For example, you think you'll economically benefit from the fee when the fact is you won't, as travel barriers always hurt both parties just the same way removing them helps both parties.
