The Market Doesn't Run for Office

Gore seems to have learned the wrong lesson about giving credit where it's due. Recently lambasted for his claims of responsibility for creating the Internet, Gore has taken a less bombastic approach to economic growth by acknowledging that the current boom in economic activity began while George Bush was president in 1991, The Washington Times reports. While his newfound respect for the accomplishments of others is vaguely reassuring, Gore's nod to the Bush administration reveals a continuing habit of assigning credit to the wrong places. In this case, he inappropriately credits government with triggering the growing economy.

No matter who's in the White House, the only way government can successfully spur economic growth is by getting out of the way. Even if we could unreservedly say George Bush had a better record than his predecessors at leaving the economy alone, the best we can say about any president's economic policies is: He wasn't as good at screwing things up. —Eric D. Dixon

(Printed in Liberty, September 1999 issue.)