Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith are professors of politics at New York University. They write about the choices facing leaders in “The Dictator’s Handbook” (Public Affairs Press, 2011). The following is the second in a series of guest posts by Bueno de Mesquita and Smith applying the arguments in _The Dictator’s Handbook_ to current events:
Creating jobs is all the talk in Washington D.C. The Republicans claim the best way to do so is to cut taxes and cut spending. The Democrats counter that what is needed is more stimulus spending paid for by tax increases for the rich.
The debate is rancorous. That neither side listens to the other is best explained by thinking of the real objective behind each plan. The leaders in each party seek election. To do so they need to deliver goodies to their supporters. What is best for the nation and what creates the most jobs must always be second to the central tenet of politics: attain and retain power.
No leader can expect his supporters to remain loyal if he does not reward them. Politicians of all stripes want to take resources from those not in their coalition and give them to their core supporters. The jobs bill is no different. The Democrats want to tax the rich to pay for increased social spending for the poor. The logic is straightforward. Rich people tend to vote Republican and poor people tend to vote Democratic. The Democrats’ plan is really to tax Republicans and spend their money on Democrats. And the Republicans want just the reverse: to cut social spending that helps the poor (AKA Democratic voters) in order to finance tax cuts for rich Republican voters.
The economics behind which plan best stimulates job creation is immaterial to the proposals politicians put forward. The debate is over coming and staying in power.