I’m both disgusted and delighted by the fact that the town of Musiri is now giving its residents the opportunity to earn up to $0.14 per month for pooping into a special toilet.

The government wanted to reduce the common practice of defecating on the riverbanks (spreading disease), and the enterprising Marathi Subburaman came up with the idea of incentivizing the low-income residents who were the primary source of free-range feces.

I love the willingness to ignore conventional wisdom (“Let’s pass a law against public defecation. Yeah, that will get people to stop!”) and attack a problem head on with a monetary incentive.

Not to mention the fact that since about 150 residents are enrolled in the program, the total cost is only $21 per month!

If this works, will we see Sally Struthers on TV, imploring us to give just $0.66 per day to adopt the poop of far-off villages?

(Many thanks to Marginal Revolution for calling attention to the story)