Heed Friedman: "Get the Wrong People to do the Right Things"

Milton Friedman
(1912-2006)

In blue states like California and Illinois among others, Republicans feel blue, and independents and disaffected Democrats may not fare much better. Who can blame them? They are surrounded by a rising flood of liberalism which is drowning their states in the wrong "red", as in ink because of fiscal follies which are degenerating into damning bankruptcies.

The lately trend among frustrated citizens in swing and one-party states has centered on finding the right candidates and running them against entrenched or embattled liberal incumbents. Once they get the right people in office, the Republicans and conservatives can start getting their political constituencies running in the "right" direction. Other interest groups have proposed a "No Labels" approach, that a third party is needed, or that Independents who refuse to caucus with either side can break the gridlock in Congress.

These method is are delayed -- days late, and too many votes short. Why does anyone have to wait until the right people are in Congress or in the statehouse before the voters can demand reform and recovery in their better interests? In some states, turning the political tide will require more than just getting the "right" people in office. Until the next election, what are Republicans, Independents, and even disaffected Democrats to do?

Free market economist Milton Friedman has shared insights on free trade, school choice, immigration reform. He also had some choice ideas on the way to "fix Congress", and a better method for enacting change.

At one speaking function, circa 1977, a member of the audience declared: "We need to change Congress in order to get off the treadmill."

Friedman sharply rebutted that notion:

No, we don't need to change Congress. Excuse me. You know, people have a great misunderstanding about this. People in Congress are in a business to buy votes. They're in the business of competing with one another in order to get elected. The same Congressman will vote for a different thing if he thinks that's politically profitable. You don't have to change Congress. People have a great misconception in this way, that the way you solve things is by electing the right people. It's nice to elect the right people, but that isn't the way you solve it. The way you solve things is by making it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right things.

Is this assertion true?

Consider the following examples.

Congress repealed its National Maximum Speed Law in 1995, returning the power back to the states. Non-enforcement and frustration from statehouses helped move Congress to repeal.

Following the expansive firestorm of protest over "amnesty" in immigration reform, US Senate Majority whip Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) turned away from the proposed plan in 2007. He later resigned from office.

When Fred Upton, the Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, authored amendments to the 2007 Energy Bill which would phase inexpensive light bulbs for more "energy efficient" and expensive light fixtures. The uproar over the legislation forced Upton to change his stance on the bill.

While running for President in mid 2011, Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty attempted to back-pedal on his support for Cap-and-Trade, a response to overwhelming displeasure from constituents about the Wall-Street Insider scam which would tax the poor at the expense of the rich stock brokers seeking to cash in on carbon credit transactions.

In California, state senator Ted Lieu contemplated tripling the state's car registration fee. The uproar about the proposal was so great, even his wife chided him for the proposal, and a dedicated interest threatened a recall effort. Lieu recalled the proposal.

This past month, residents, taxpayers, property owners, and all concerned citizens protested a rise in the county sewer fee, which the Los Angeles County Border of Supervisors was contemplating for a Clean Water, Clean Beaches initiative. The $54 fee would have hurt homeowners and even apartment dwellers. Supervisor Don Knabe opposed the fee, and enough residents protested. In spite of some clandestine efforts to pass the increase, a vocal uproar throughout the county pushed the supervisors to table the measure.

California voters do not have to wait to elect representatives who will do the right thing. Get the right proposals out there, and encourage your officials to support them, even if they are the "wrong" people politically or ideologically. Make it politically profitable for your legislator to support your views initiatives, and reforms, wherever he or she may stand in the ideological spectrum.

Voting for the right people is nice, but getting active on issues is better. Call, write, organize, and make your opinions heard. In short, "Get the wrong people to do the right things."