Take time to educate yourself

Democrats in the U.S. Congress are like broken record players. Since Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's Jan. 4 economic policy speech, they have taken every opportunity to blame the president and last year's tax cuts for the current recession. But the seeds of our economic problems were sown well before Bush took office. Historical and empirical evidence also confirms that tax cuts actually soften the impact and shorten the duration of periods of economic contraction. How, then, can an entire political party deny reality and thrive under a banner of higher taxes and bigger government? As one notable democratic strategist might say, "It's the electorate, stupid!"\nOr is it the stupid electorate? Contrary to what you may have heard, money from wealthy campaign contributors hasn't corrupted politics, but ignorance has. Believe it or not, politicians actually listen to their constituents. Campaign contributions don't mean much if you're voted out of office. The problem is that most people, especially the ones who vote, have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to issues of public policy. Anyone who has ever watched one of C-SPAN's call-in talk shows knows what I mean. The Tom Daschles of the world know what good fiscal policy is, but since their constituents don't, they have no choice but to pander to the lowest common denominator.\nSo why is nearly half of the electorate clueless? It's part of human nature to choose the path of least resistance. That's why most people can tell you more about their problems than they can about solutions. It's easy to turn on the television or look out the window and see that people are homeless, school shootings are rampant, people are losing jobs and that our public school system is failing. But it is much more difficult to understand why massive government entitlement programs, draconian gun control regulations, trade restrictions and flowery rhetoric about smaller class sizes and higher teacher salaries fail to address the roots of these problems. \nInstead of engaging the issues, learning them for themselves and drawing their own conclusions, most are content to base their opinions on little more than what they hear on the evening news or read in their local newspapers. For them, the world is a very simple place. It is a place where Republicans are cold, heartless statisticians who only care about the wealthiest 1 percent. It is a place where money can solve all of our problems if only we can get it to the government fast enough. It is also a place where our friends, the Democrats, can claim that tax cuts are bad for an economy in recession. \nBut things are very different when you scratch beneath the surface and find the truth for yourself.\nThere will always be a supply of Democratic politicians to meet the demands of an electorate that isn't willing to put in the time to understand how things work in the real world. If you don't already read the national newspapers, pick two and get to work. If you don't know much about taxes or monetary policy, e-mail the economics department and ask them if there is a class you can take or a book you can read to learn more. If you think you know all there is to know about a particular subject, keep looking, there's more. The issues we care about deserve more than our cursory understanding. It's time to get to work.