Tiebout Ties in with Assisted Suicide and Gay Marriage

One of the biggest criticisms of the paper we read in class by Charles M. Tiebout is that he makes it seem easy for individuals to move from one locality with a certain expenditure patter to another in order to maximize their utility. Although most individuals don't leave their home for a single policy, there are a few policies that make for exceptions. These policies tend to be very controversial, partly due to the large impact that they can have on citizens.

One example of this kind of policy deals with the legality of assisted suicide. The state of Oregon's Death and Dignity Act has afforded terminally ill residents the option of obtaining lethal prescriptions since 1997. Brittany Maynard, a previously-terminally ill cancer patient, and her husband moved to Oregon in order to minimize her suffering. Oregon has allowed over 1,100 lethal prescriptions, approximately 750 of which were used by patients to end life early.

Gay marriage is another controversial topic that did not used to be legal in many states until very recently. Many gay couples travel to different states in order to get married, some of whom stay there. Illegality of gay marriage and assisted suicide forces huge costs upon certain members of society. In some cases, these costs are great enough for individuals to find it worthwhile to move to a different state. Although Tiebout's assumption that citizens can easily move wherever they want with no costs is a stretch, there certainly are situations where individuals are better off moving to another locality solely for its different policies.