Politics, the Economy, and Distractions

We get all riled up in our politics about gay marriage, abortion, religion, etc. Why? These things rarely actually matter in the realm of government or our daily lives as a result of the actions of government.


There are a few things that pop to mind as to why these issues become front and center:

• Politicians wield them as tools to control easily swayed voters, touching on a sensitivity in a 'for' or 'against' manner.


• The people affected by the politicization of these types of issues are forced to counterattack.


• They are much more interesting and/or easy to debate than something like macroeconomic, global trends.

What really, truly matters for government is to protect the rights of its citizens through laws and enforcement. It's a reasonable debate to discuss the degree to which the government gets involved in protecting rights and probably a proper one, but that's really where that discussion should stop.


The Clinton Administration had the mantra of "It's the economy, stupid!" and they were right in that sense. However, I disagree with the tact that is normally taken (by both parties). The U.S. President is not the head of the American economy. There really isn't (shouldn't be) one. In its role of protecting the rights of its citizens, the government should be a watchdog to the workings of our economy.

The problem is who watches the watchdog?