We may want to give up a little democracy in exchange for a dose of technocracy and buy ourselves more sanity in the process. In the breathing space offered by the recent deal, we must build some defenses against a possible recurrence of the dangerous and unedifying spectacle we have endured this year. It’s a fine instinct – but now stands in the way of effective policy. Policy-makers now need to bind themselves to a sustainable fiscal policy, protected against immediate political temptations.īut the strong anti-technocrat instinct of the United States stands in the way of adopting more binding fiscal commitments. He ordered his sailors to tie him to the mast to avoid steering his ship onto the Sirens’ rocks. When short-term political pressures undermine long-term economic welfare, it is time re-learn the lesson of Ulysses. Legislators usually have to face the voters sooner than they have to face the consequences of myopic decisions. This is not a uniquely American ailment: all democratic political systems tend towards myopia. The Washington democratic process is actively undermining U.S.
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