Why rely on Economics 101 and basic incentives when you can indulge one's journalistic prejudices?

From Incentives matter, even in Utah by Infovores.  The subheading is Not everything is about culture.

A little about culture, quite a bit about economics and a fair dose of evidence of lazy journalism.

His primary point is that too frequently, when journalists speak of some phenomenon occurring in Utah, they appear always to ascribe it to the cultural influence of Mormonism.  But Infovores's more fundamental point is that journalists should always and first understand the context of incentives before they ascribe anything to culture.

It is the same issue as exists in archaeology.  Any material item discovered which remains unidentified or not understood is sooner or later ascribed to religion or religious ceremony.  And sometimes we eventually discover that it was indeed a religious item.  But usually we discover that it was something much more prosaic, we just did not recognize it at the time of discovery.

I am a big believer in the importance of culture and behaviors but I am also a big believer in understanding incentives as well.  Whether one takes priority over the other, I would hesitate to say but excellent arguments can be made for either.

What is unforgivable in a journalist is to always defer to culture and never explore incentives.  It is lazy stereotyping often amplified by unstated bias.  Journalists, who are often susceptible to the foolishness of Critical Race Theory or notions of Social Justice are the very ones most frequently displaying significant tendencies towards stereotyping and prejudicial bias.

In this instance, the British Guardian newspaper, a bastion of leftism and bankrupt social theories, writes an article ascribing an affinity for green lawns in Utah to the cultural influence of the Church of Latter Day Saints.  

Infovores shows that the reasons for Utah's preference for green lawns is actually right there in the article by Annette McGivney.  Water is much cheaper in Utah than it is in nearby states.  Utah has green lawns because it is cheap to have green lawns.

You still might want to write an article making the subtle case that the Mormon religion encourages bad environmental behaviors but an ounce of economic literacy suggests that Occam's Razor rules.  A convoluted and prejudicially biased appeal to the cultural influence of a religion is unnecessary when it is clear that the economics of incentives and supply and demand can explain the phenomenon of green lawns in Utah.

An excellent read.