analyticsbox | Sep 29, 2021
We Need Our True Statesmen Back!
What is a Statesman? Here is the traditional definition:
a person who is experienced in the art of government or versed in the administration of government affairs.
a person who exhibits great wisdom and ability in directing the affairs of a government or in dealing with important public issues.
Let’s focus on definition #2, especially ‘a person who exhibits great wisdom’ on important public issues. That means pursuing policy that is in the best interest of the country.
In No Spin #17, we discussed good economics vs. bad economics, the seen vs. unseen. When evaluating policy, the wise Statesman considers all aspects -- looking at the long term good for the country. But is anyone doing that today?
As described in No Spin #18, there are issues that are favored by many that are very detrimental to our long term future - which are unseen today, but can be anticipated in the future by good economists.
The current proposals for Build Back Better are greatly enlarging the welfare state, the size of government, and taking major resources from private uses to government uses -- financed by increases in taxes on the ‘wealthy’ (so they say) and increased debt (probably both). Regardless of how this is all financed, there will be a shift from private to public. The analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan government entity, confirms that growth and income will be slowed by the major redistribution of resources from the private sector (productive sector) to the government.
That is not the formula for the long term growth in our country as discussed in No Spin #16.
THE BOTTOM LINE
We don’t need career politicians focused only on re-election. We need Statesmen again like our Founding Fathers, who focus on the best long term interest of the country, not the short term political benefits of giving out more ‘free’ benefits. Nothing is free, we will all be paying and this approach hurts economic growth, which is detrimental for all.
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