Red dirt economics

Unless one is on the main road, most streets here look like the one below. That one is in front of our house and actually one of the best groomed. Most roads here would not be considered passable in the US, with giant holes covering every few feet of ground.

The red dirt consumes everyone here, although the natives barely notice. Taking one's shoes off at the entrance of a home is much more upheld policy than any sort of law that exists here. The dirt stains everything in sight. The soles of the foreigners' feet tell this the most, as the contrast in color reminds us that we are not from here. Somehow, by chance, we were born in a place for better or worse, we can hold our representatives accountable for their actions. If we don't want holes in our road we have the right to demand that they be fixed. Paying taxes gives us power to demand our wants and desires because we have invested in our community.

I am about the furthest person away from claiming I have a good grasp on economics. However, I do understand the idea that free markets work themselves out and that people's needs will be inevitably met. But as I walk these uneven, rocky, red dirt roads every day, stepping in pools of water and trash because there are no drains or sewage or sanitation, I'm not entirely sure that they do.