Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. — Milton Friedman

Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.

Author: Milton Friedman

Insight: We've all noticed it: the emergency lane at the grocery store that became permanent, the "temporary" tax that never disappears, the work-from-home policy instituted "just for the pandemic" that somehow stuck around. There's something almost comical about how often we say "just until..." and then three years pass. Friedman's insight cuts deeper than just bureaucratic laziness, though. Once something exists—whether it's a government benefit, a workplace policy, or even a social norm—it builds constituencies. People adjust their lives around it, plan budgets based on it, build jobs around administering it. Removing it becomes politically expensive and psychologically disorienting. The temporary acquires gravity. What makes this worth sitting with is that it applies beyond government. We do this personally too: the "temporary" compromise in a relationship, the short-term budget cut that becomes permanent austerity, the emergency work email that never stops coming. The lesson isn't that all temporary things are bad—sometimes they're necessary. But there's real power in noticing when you're treating something as temporary and then honestly asking whether you actually intend to change it back, or whether you're already committing to permanent change while using the word "temporary" as cover.

Source: Tyranny of the Status Quo,, 1984 p. 115