Good Intentions ...

We have all heard the proverb "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Political economists like to use this phrase to talk about misguided politicians and the policies that they champion.  Well meaning politicians often propose policies that are intended to help citizens such as minimum wage, rent controls, and public assistance, but often end up making the citizens they want to help and others worse off.  So why do they do it?  Several reasons 1) economic ignorance they simply do not understand economics 2) politicians being rationally self interested know that passing well intentioned policies will keep them in office (public choice theory). 3) They have a value system or view of the world that thinks that only the intentions and not the outcomes matter. There are other reasons and these are not mutually exclusive.

I recently came across the letter of the late Senator Kennedy to the Pope, and not to speak ill of the dead, and I mean no disrespect but this letter illustrates just this point.  Kennedy favored many of these policies over his political career.  

He wrote to the Pope

"I want you to know, your Holiness, that in my 50 years of elected office I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I’ve worked to welcome the immigrant, to fight discrimination and expand access to health care and education. I’ve opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. Those are the issues that have motivated me and have been the focus of my work as a U.S. Senator."

Notice it is all about what he tried to do in those 50 years and not that he accomplished these goals.  For Kennedy, like many politicians, wanted his good intentions to be enough.  Kennedy is not unique, and this letter is just a good example of the point.  Good intentions are not enough and this why understanding economics and having an economically literate citizenry is so important.