You’ll never get elected by telling the truth about economics.
On February 1, 2016, Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) won the Iowa caucuses. That came as a bit of a shock to the political establishment, given that Cruz had not only touched the third rail of Iowa politics, he had grabbed it with both hands: Cruz openly trashed ethanol subsidies, payoffs to corn growers for the boondoggle of the corn-based fuel. Donald Trump, the second-place finisher, launched into one of his trademark rants: “He will destroy your ethanol business 100 percent — 100 percent. . . . Your ethanol business, if Ted Cruz gets in, will be wiped out within six months to a year, it’s going to be gone. . . . The ethanol folks like Trump, I’ve been consistent, I’ve been solid, I’m a supporter and will always be a supporter.”
Cruz had his moment, but Trump, of course, went on to win the nomination and then dominate Hillary Clinton in Iowa, winning a state Mitt Romney lost to Barack Obama by nearly 10 percent of the vote.
Trump also saw great success in the Rust Belt states, where he preached the false gospel of protectionism. “We’re being killed on trade — absolutely destroyed,” Trump repeatedly stated during the campaign. He explained, “Our politicians have aggressively pursued a policy of globalization, moving our jobs, our wealth, and our factories to Mexico and overseas.”
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So here’s the question: Is it possible to have political success in America without blatantly lying to voters?
Because make no mistake: Both Trump and Sanders succeeded by lying about economics. Manufacturing employment hasn’t dipped in the United States because of trade — it’s dipped because of technology, and the jobs that Trump and Sanders promised to bring back won’t be coming back through government interventionism. Since 1994, manufacturing output has skyrocketed, but manufacturing jobs have leveled off — thanks to technology. Between 2006 and 2013, American manufacturing production jumped 17.6 percent. China, the nation supposedly crippling our manufacturing sector by stealing our jobs, has actually lost jobs in its manufacturing sector owing to technology in recent years. And most of the automotive jobs being created in Mexico aren’t coming from the United States — they’re coming from foreign automakers who would rather invest in Mexican workers than American ones, thanks to America’s trade policies.
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Here’s the problem: If politicians can win only by lying, they’ll continue to lie. But reality will remain reality. Manufacturing jobs will continue to disappear, and tariffs and regulations won’t make them come back. And free trade will continue to enrich rather than impoverish, no matter what Trump or Sanders says. Good politics may be bad policy, and Americans will pay the price.
Which means that we need a better class of voter and a better class of politician. We need voters who are capable of demanding something beyond pandering — who are willing to hear uncomfortable truths. And we need politicians willing to educate, not merely to pander. Most Americans don’t know much about basic economics. But politicians, who spend their lives investigating policy, should. And it’s a betrayal of public responsibility to tell Americans what they want to hear simply to win votes, knowing that those Americans will pay the price for the bad policies politicians urge them to embrace.
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Exactly https://t.co/XsGmVThob1
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) December 21, 2016
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