The Politics of Self Interest

In all the recent debates in Congress, in local town hall meetings, and on television, it seems to me that many of us have lost sight of what people really mean when they hotly express their views of various issues. We hear the President profess his beliefs that we have a moral obligation to care for others. We hear people talk about the concerns of government entering their lives. We hear politicians debate the pros and cons of various options for extending government programs to stimulate the economy. Very little of this addresses the main reasons people vote for candidates.

Milton Friedman, a famous economist and theorist, probably expressed it best when he said that we all act in our own self interests. If you interview people anywhere in the world, most will tell you that they believe they are good, caring people. Even members of the violent M13 gang often will say their reason for joining the gang was to find others who cared about them and would protect them from the violence of others. Only a minority of individuals that have been abused throughout their life and have lost all self worth think of themselves as bad people. When politicians forget this simple idea or believe that they know what is best for other people, they will surely stir the ire of many in society. What we are seeing is part of that rebellion among different self interests. Trying to force our own ideas on others without helping them to understand how it is in their best interest will surely fail. Any government program, regardless of how well intentioned it might be, will always fail without the support of the public. This is true even in totalitarian governments. If the discontent rises to a high enough level, the public will rebel and throw out the tyrants.

An old axiom in politics is that the public always votes its wallet. That has probably been true throughout history. It is easy to be charitable when you are very wealthy and all your needs are met. It is even easier to be philanthropic with other people’s money. However, when people are struggling to make ends meet, or have very little themselves, or are just comfortable, they are not so quick to give away hard earned money. Americans have begun to realize that the massive debt that is accumulating will soon come due. Someone is going to have to pay the bill and that someone is all of us. Just like running up a massive personal credit card debt by spending on all the nice things we want now, the national debt must eventually be paid and that is doesn’t mean starting 30 years from now.

While it is important to discuss and understand our various differences, it is probably even more important to discuss what is in it for each of us. How will each of these proposals directly affect our own wallets?