Nanny State vers. 2

Thacher Park is the closest substantial chunk of public land near Albany. It's signature feature is an escarpment of hundred foot tall cliffs, with a walk that descends to the cliff base, before ascending back on the last 50 feet of the historically important Indain Ladder trail.

Despite being operated by the New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation, most of the Indian Ladder trail (the only other easy access below the cliffs), while on state park land, is closed off to the public.

And oh yes; the rest is closed six months of the year, including Easter weekend.

So go enjoy the view from the parking lot, but don't try walking to what is truly unique about this fabulous area.

Thoughts on freebies

Skiing last weekend I chanced into FREE lift tickets. I was very happy:

* I enjoyed myself much more than I'd been anticipating. While I was in a bad mood before coming into the freebies (there was also a teenager involved ...), I was immediately relaxed and carefree afterwards.

* I felt free to stop anytime, not needing to "get my money's worth."

Neither of these sentiments seems to make much sense under standard consumer choice theory. Or at least the latter. Maybe the former is some kind of positive feedback from the unanticipated gift and hence higher consumer surplus from the trip.

If my reactions are typical (and I believe they are), how do we exploit such behavior to make better policy?