It’s called “The Rat Effect.”
Seems good-hearted government agents don’t always think of the results of their actions. This story provides some amusing, if not also depressing, examples.
It starts telling about the French modernizing Hanoi by installing sewers.
Unfortunately for Dourmer, the dark and cool sewers eventually attracted pests. With difficult access and a labyrinth of tunnels most predators wouldn’t venture into, the subterranean maze quickly became a rat highway. The rodent population soon exploded.
Got so bad they started by paying 1 cent per tail so people would kill the rats.
Problem was, people would cut off the tails and release the rats back into the sewers to breed more.
Also tells of Mao’s order to kill sparrows and Moocelle Obama’s healthy lunch initiative.
More @ The Rat Effect: When the Government Tries To Fix a Problem, But Only Makes It Worse
