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  I don't see any problem with someone who has skin in the 
  game and who is passionate getting involved [...] The
  fact that he is rich and politically connected makes him
  that much more able to tackle the problem.
One traditional hazard is when the people with the power to solve problems solve them for themselves but not for everyone, so they lose their skin in the game before they finish the job properly.

An example:

* Me and the mayor live on the same street, in the rich area of town, where there are ten potholes that really annoy us both. I'm always bugging him about it.

* There are a thousand potholes over the rest of the city. The mayor can't afford to fix them this year, but he'd like to soon. Maybe with a tax increase, or a cut to the parks budget?

* I form a local pothole-fixing task force. With the mayor's consent, my neighbours and I raise $2000 and hire someone to fix the ten potholes that annoy us.

* The mayor is no longer annoyed by potholes, and I no longer bug him about it. He realises nobody really wants a tax increase, or a cut to the parks budget.

* The remaining 990 potholes don't get fixed. Sucks not to live in the rich part of town!

If Torres was sending his forces across the entire city equally, it would be a different matter! But fixing 10 potholes is much easier to afford than fixing 1000.




At least, potholes can't move, but with petty criminals, if some streets are patrolled more often, they will just move elsewhere.




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