IT IS A SERIOUS MISTAKE TO THINK OF POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS AS SAINTS

IT IS A SERIOUS MISTAKE TO THINK OF POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS AS SAINTS It is a a serious if common mistake to suppose that government, simply by virtue of its duty, cares for the public interest It is high time that those of us who have a more-realistic and less-romantic understanding of the logic of politics start more forcefully to insist that if anyone in this battle over appropriate fiscal policy is unscientific or faith-based, it is the Keynesians – whose theory of the determinants and role of aggregate demand might or might not be valid, but whose theory of government behavior most certainly amounts to nothing more than praying to the state to behave only nonpolitically and in accord with the scientific dictates of Keynesian theory. Such a ‘theory’ of state behavior, of course, is no theory at all; it is merely a naive hope or a faith immune to reason and facts. While I, too, favor a balanced-budget amendment, I’m not as optimistic about its potential benefits as is Arnold. But I’ve no time now to make this post longer.