Wishful Thinking

Well, summer is over, and for those of us in academia, it's a new year. As I start reestablishing my work routines, I hope to resume blogging. Here's something that was brought to my attention by L&P reader John Pappas: In the WSJ, Al Hubbard and Noam Neusner opine that Obama's economic proposals (and therefore his candidacy) are likely to fail because"Americans are wiser than they are given credit. They know that if you restrict supply and tax production, prices go up." They conclude:"The economic wisdom of Americans should not be doubted. They can see through Mr. Obama's proposals. They know that they will have to pick up the bill if Mr. Obama sends checks to people who already don't pay taxes; they know a centralized government-controlled health-care system will be more expensive, less efficient, and less friendly to patients and doctors. They know that the most effective way to bring down energy prices is by keeping all our energy options open, including more drilling in the U.S. And they know that if a candidate has spent his entire career taxing more and spending more, that's what you'll get -- and more of it."

That's all true, except the first part. Sadly, most Americans can't see through the smoke and mirrors of most politicians' economic schemes, don't understand any of the relationships described above, and continue to vote for more of the same.