The joys of politics

I recently wrote about the theoretical arguments surrounding fiscal stimulus by governments (here). Anna Bligh in her election campaign promised to 'create' 100,000 jobs in her next term. We know that these actions and promises are all rubbish, so why to we accept it? Why not vote for the guy who is reasonable? Or is it that reasonable people avoid politics and we have to vote for the best of the worst.

I want to bring your attention to comments by economics super-professor Greg Mankiw about the US stimulus bill. Apparently the US government has promised to monitor the effects of the bill and report periodically on the number of jobs created.

It is an absolute mystery as to what these guys will actually do. My cynical side might suggest they will simply pluck numbers from the air. Then possibly vote on what number would by not too high, not too low, but just right, as far as the public perception of their validity goes. They may even dabble in economic tricks.

These are the joys of politics.