Don’t miss today’s New York Times obit of the 1986 Nobel laureate and George Mason University professor James M. Buchanan.
Like everyone else, Buchanan taught, politicians tend to act in their own self-interest
Courting voters at election time, for example, legislators will approve tax cuts and spending increases for projects and entitlements favored by the electorate. This combination can lead to ever-rising deficits, public debt burdens and increasingly large governments to conduct the public’s business.
And
Over the years since Dr. Buchanan won the Nobel, much of what he predicted has played out. Government is bigger than ever. Tax revenue has fallen far short of public programs’ needs. Public and private borrowing has become a way of life. Politicians still act in their own interests while espousing the public good, and national deficits have soared into the trillions.
Can’t say we haven’t been warned.
Do you think things will change? A lottery ticket probably offers better odds.
I wonder what Dr. Buchanan would have had to say about the hypocrisy of the Fix the Debt crowd.