Politics

If you took all the deception and fraud out of politics, there might not be a lot left.

— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America

To expect politicians to put the public interest above their own personal interests is to defy thousands of years of history, in countries around the world.

— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America

Politicians don't get elected by saying "No" to voters.

— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America

No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems - of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind.

— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America

Many of the things the government does that may seem stupid are not stupid at all, from the standpoint of the elected officials or bureaucrats who do these things.

The current economic downturn that has cost millions of people their jobs began with successive administrations of both parties pushing banks and other lenders to make mortgage loans to people whose incomes, credit history and inability or unwillingness to make a substantial down payment on a house made them bad risks.

Was that stupid? Not at all. The money that was being put at risk was not the politicians' money, and in most cases was not even the government's money. Moreover, the jobs that are being lost by the millions are not the politicians' jobs-- and jobs in the government's bureaucracies are increasing.

— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America

The most politically painless way to hand out goodies, without taking responsibility for their costs, is to pass a law saying that somebody else must provide those goodies at their expense, while the politicians take credit for generosity and compassion.

Employers are ideal targets for such mandates, since there are always more employees than employers, and that is what counts on Election Day. Whether it is health insurance, time off with pay or whatever, these mandates on employers can be washed down with a little rhetoric about business’ “social responsibilities.”

Where those “social responsibilities” come from is not a problem. It sounds good, and that is good enough for politics.

— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America

The idea of paying the kind of money that would attract the kind of people we need in government runs against many prejudices. Just plain envy is one. Some people feel that those they elect should not make so much more than they do.

But think about it: If your child had some life-threatening condition that required some very demanding surgery, would you worry about whether the surgeon who saves your child's life had an annual income that was several times what you make?

Members of Congress have not only trillions of dollars of our tax money in their hands, they also have in their hands our lives and the lives of our children and our nation. Are you going to worry about their incomes or about what caliber of people we can attract to make the momentous decisions that have to be made?

Yes, it would be nice if all public officials were self-sacrificing individuals who had no other thought than doing their best for their country. It would also be nice if voters watched elected officials 24/7. But the best is the enemy of the good. The road to Utopia has repeatedly turned out to be the road to hell, in countries around the world.

— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America

Economics and politics deal with the same fundamental problem: What everyone wants always adds up to more than there is. Economics can give no solution to that problem, and can at best offer various ways that trade-offs may be made, in order to try to optimize the inherently limited possibilities. But politics offers solutions every day - however illusory, counterproductive or even disastrous those solutions may turn out to be. In the short run, which is when elections are held, politicians are a lot more popular than economists.

— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America