What People Are Motivated to Do

Russ Roberts sums up Public Choice:

Suppose I'm thinking about Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple. I would never be so naive as to hope he'll come out with a portable phone that uses an old-fashioned rotary dial because I've always loved those old-fashioned phones. Or that Ben and Jerry's will make their ice cream less tasty because America has an obesity problem or just because I have trouble restraining myself when I open one of their cartons. Or that Ford will come out with a car you have to push to get it started because that would be great exercise. Imagine writing an editorial along these lines, reprimanding these companies for being short-sighted and only caring about staying in business or trying to make profits. We all understand that making profits is what businesses try to do.

So why do we expect politicians to do something other than to try and stay in office? That's what they do. Don't ask politicians to do something they aren't motivated to do.

Read the whole thing.