I suppose I'm becoming a bit of a political elitist. I wonder, over and over again, why we listen to the American people on matters of the economy? Don't get me wrong, I'm not repudiating democracy. I'm just wondering why we're listening, or pretending to listen, to a factory worker in Gary, or a housemom in Olympia, or a farmer in Luverne on fiscal policy.
In the wake of the elections, Republicans are trumpeting that Americans have rejected the stimulus, rejected government spending on bailouts and TARP, rejected the notion of government intervention, rejected all deficit spending.
First, I'll argue that they have not done so. What the American people have said is that they want the economy fixed. They want jobs and stability at home. This interpretation about what the electorate has supposedly said comes from politicians who want to believe that the nation shares their fiscal vision.
They don't. They want jobs. It's as simple as that.
Secondly, even if one can make the argument that "the people" have delved into fiscal policy nuance, rather than a more simple expression of "we want jobs", why would government possibly listen to them? What makes a mom from Olympia any kind of an expert on what it takes to jump start an economy?
The obvious parallel is having the hubris to tell your surgeon how to do the operation. When we go to the doctor, all we're really saying is "I want to feel better, but you've got the training, so fix me up." Using that rationale, why would we believe that a farmer in Luverne has any real notion of how macroeconomics works? I'm pretty sure Paul Krugman would take the farmer's word for it when he's told how to milk a cow, so it would make sense for the farmer to trust a Nobel winner when it comes to fixing the economy.
Polling consistently tells us that the American people don't care about the deficit right now, not when it comes to jobs. But the Republicans have ginned up this argument to support their goals of reversing progressive social policy. And as a side note, we'll see how the mom in Olympia feels when Mitch McConnell and John Boehner try to cut funding for the pre-K that's teaching her child how to read.
Americans aren't making statements about fiscal policy, they're saying "give us jobs".
I'd love to see a poll ask, "If you can have a lower deficit and less jobs, or a higher deficit and more jobs, which would you prefer?". You and I both know what the answer is, and pretending otherwise is stupid, obstinate, or ignorant.
We've got to get past the idea that we're all experts on everything. We're not, and when push comes to shove, we'll admit it. Everyone might think they can fly a plane, but how many would actually take the controls and try to land a 747? Why can't we do the same with our economy? Ask the electorate what they want and who they trust to deliver it, and then get out of the way and let it get done.
Secondly, we have to have a measure of patience. A mess on the scale we have cannot be fixed in 18 months. Obama's biggest mistake was suggesting it would be. But when one is in a sinking ship, the first thing that has to be done, before bailing out the water, is stopping the leak. We've clearly passed that point. In our instant gratification society, that's not enough. We want it all to be great, and be great now, despite the fact that it took us a decade of gorging at the trough to get us here.
We got into this position by not listening to experts who were warning us about overspending, Wall Street malfeasance, easy credit and the housing bubble. We just didn't pay attention. At some point, we're going to have to stop pretending that we can all fly the plane and let the guys with the training take the controls.
Do you want jobs or not?If the answer is yes, then let the experts do what they have to do to create them and stop messing in partisan political theory. Jobs are not a partisan issue. Continuing to humor the Tea Party with the idea that we can create jobs whithout government intervention and continued spending is absurd.
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