Those words spoken by economist Milton Friedman during the presidential administration of Jimmy Carter are just as true today. The problem he saw then is exactly the same problem we are experiencing now. Politicians, for the most part, always do the politically profitable things as it applies to them. Unfortunately, many citizens feel those are not the right things for them but do not know how to change the politicians.
Changing politicians comes two ways: changing some of their actions and, changing from one politician to another. It would seem that, as Friedman said, it is not a partisan issue. Both political parties seem to want exactly the same thing: to make government bigger so that they are ever so much more powerful themselves.
Government gets bigger no matter who is elected. It is true some politicians do not increase government quite as fast as other politicians, but in the last century government has always gotten bigger. President Thomas Jefferson observed, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground.”
Sometimes the only thing that helps is to get new politicians in office who do not yet know the ropes to bind the citizens. Those are the ones that we think will be different. Mark Twain observed, “Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason.”
One of the most troubling aspects of politics to me is that to get elected both parties must promise to spend tomorrow’s money on today election. The way they see it, if they do not they will be yesterday’s news. Any politician saying they are not going to bring home the pork is unelectable.
At some point we all realize, our government will run out of tomorrow’s money. However, when you ask, the politicians say they will never run out of tomorrow’s money because there are so many tomorrows and only one today. The weight of bad politics will eventually take our nation down like the unsinkable Titanic.
Milton Friedman saw a commonality between generations of politicians who promise sincerely one thing and then do exactly the opposite when in office. It has happened so often that it is we, the voters, who are stupid to expect politicians to do what they promise. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
Therefore, just getting a political office seeker to promise something is not the end product nor is it of any assurance of future performance. We gain nothing when a politician comes out in favor of doing something we want that politician to do. They are not going to honor those promises. Nor are the politicians going to even act ashamed that their promises were false. No, we are the problem because we make their false actions politically profitable.
So given this is the way it happens we must have a different plan. For us minions of citizens who neither seek nor want political office, what we have to do is make it politically profitable for said politicians to do the right thing for us, the citizens. Obviously it has to be the right thing for the politician or they will not do it. While that is easier said than done at least we have a direction to go.
We have to quit trying to get politicians to say the right thing, instead, get them to do the right thing. The only way to do so is to make the right things to their advantage. Again, lots of luck because it is easier said than done. But can it be done?
We can change the generations of political wrong actions by structuring the political incentives correctly. We have to make it politically advantageous for our politicians to do the right thing for us citizens. Of course the Devil is in the details, eh? But we do have hope that there is a way to reverse this country’s slide into bankruptcy. Perhaps.
Dr. Michael Swickard hosts the syndicated radio talk show News New Mexico on six to nine a.m. Monday - Friday on a number of New Mexico radio stations and through streaming. Email: michael@swickard.com
