[News Terms] What Does the 'Shower Room Fool' Refer to in Criticism of Inconsistent Policies?

As the government has finalized an increase of 1,509 medical school admissions for next year, the Korea Association of Medical School Professors submitted a final appeal to the Supreme Court on the 25th, stating they will seek the court's ultimate judgment on the 'suspension of execution for the medical school expansion.' They are requesting the government to withhold the announcement of the admissions guidelines until the Supreme Court's decision on the re-appeal is made.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Attorney Lee Byung-chul, representing this lawsuit, stated in the appeal brief, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration's decision to increase admissions by 2,000 is akin to coercing the Bank of Korea governor to print 2,000 trillion won annually just because small business owners are struggling," and criticized, "Everything the Yoon Seok-yeol administration does is 'fool in the shower room' behavior."

The term "fool in the shower room" was first introduced by Milton Friedman, the 1976 Nobel laureate in Economics and professor at the University of Chicago, in his book Free to Choose. It refers to the behavior of someone turning the faucet toward hot water to get warm water quickly, then suddenly turning it toward cold water when it becomes too hot, and vice versa, repeatedly. This metaphor is commonly used to criticize hasty, clumsy government economic policies and incompetence.

In the 1970s, when Friedman coined this term, John Maynard Keynes, who supported active government intervention in markets, was very popular. In contrast, Friedman argued that central banks adjusting the money supply up and down according to market conditions could cause significant side effects, and that steadily and stably supplying currency in line with economic growth was the most ideal monetary policy.

He maintained that the economy has a self-correcting mechanism to find stability on its own and that government intervention in the market should be restrained. He warned that if the government implements aggressive economic policies without sufficient market information, it could cause unexpected side effects or counterproductive outcomes, further destabilizing the market.

The Korea Association of Medical School Professors said, "President Yoon Seok-yeol boasts about having read (though we are certain he never actually did) Friedman's Free to Choose, but just in the past week alone, the government prohibited overseas direct purchases then canceled it, regulated elderly driving then canceled it, banned short selling then canceled it, cut the science and technology budget by 5 trillion won and now plans to exempt preliminary feasibility studies. If Professor Friedman were alive, he would probably shout, 'Don't lie about reading my book!'"

The association claims that the government's expansion of medical school admissions is an example of "fool in the shower room" behavior. However, there are many criticisms that the government's recent erratic and inconsistent policy responses are undermining market functions and policy credibility.