Don't Give Voters The Choice
Dylan Grice of Societe Generale (quoted in the book "Endgame"):
"Voters don't go for long-term gain when it costs short-term pain. They'll certainly consider the guy who frowns and earnestly tells them that if they don't put down the snacks, go to the gym and work off some of the flab they've been piling on there will be serious consequences one day, but they'll only vote for him if he also tells them that they can go ahead and eat cheeseburgers and fries in front of the TV a little bit longer."
The guy is right! That's why voters should not be given the choice of eating the cheeseburgers in the first place.
The thing is, in a world where voters can vote themselves - either directly or through their representatives - all sorts of perks - a/k/a "entitlements" - then why would they not do it? They would not do it because they were a moral, rational people who put the common good above their own selfish interests.
If you read that last sentence again, you'll understand why Dylan Grice is right in a sense. He understands that - sadly - most people who vote don't vote in a moral, rational way. They vote for what gives them some immediate gratification.
Does this mean we've become an immoral and irrational people?
(By the way, "Endgame" is a pretty good book, especially if you're unfamiliar with the current government finance/sovereign bubble and its effects: de-leveraging. Buy it or borrow it from the library.)
"Voters don't go for long-term gain when it costs short-term pain. They'll certainly consider the guy who frowns and earnestly tells them that if they don't put down the snacks, go to the gym and work off some of the flab they've been piling on there will be serious consequences one day, but they'll only vote for him if he also tells them that they can go ahead and eat cheeseburgers and fries in front of the TV a little bit longer."
The guy is right! That's why voters should not be given the choice of eating the cheeseburgers in the first place.
The thing is, in a world where voters can vote themselves - either directly or through their representatives - all sorts of perks - a/k/a "entitlements" - then why would they not do it? They would not do it because they were a moral, rational people who put the common good above their own selfish interests.
If you read that last sentence again, you'll understand why Dylan Grice is right in a sense. He understands that - sadly - most people who vote don't vote in a moral, rational way. They vote for what gives them some immediate gratification.
Does this mean we've become an immoral and irrational people?
(By the way, "Endgame" is a pretty good book, especially if you're unfamiliar with the current government finance/sovereign bubble and its effects: de-leveraging. Buy it or borrow it from the library.)
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