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The Great Game
Why the belief that the US President controls the economy leads to misguided voting decisions
The human brain is hardwired for simplicity. That’s why simple lies spread faster than complex truths. It’s why people are superstitious/religious. It’s why we think in black-and-white terms rather than comprehending the spectrum.
It’s why the vast majority of US voters regardless of whether they happen to vote Dem or Rep believe that the US President “controls” the US economy.
Let’s begin with a few basic facts.
First of all, nobody controls the economy. Exogenous factors have enormous influence. To see why, let’s look at a simple scenario. Imagine that the USA exports a lot of products and these exports create jobs and net income to the USA. Now let’s imagine that the countries that buy most US imports suddenly have a fiscal meltdown and can’t afford to import US products any more. Through no fault of its own, the US economy will begin to decline. No President can control this.
Now let’s look at another scenario. Imagine that a great many jobs reside within large corporations that for years have dominated their domestic markets. As a consequence these corporations are lethargic and resist innovation. Meanwhile another country has smaller and more innovative…
