US Government: Incentives Confronted by the Politician
Instructions: Read a passage taken from a US Government class textbook, and write an essay (3-4
paragraphs) on one of the prompts after the passage.
US Government: Incentives Confronted by the Politician
What motivates political candidates and officeholders? Economics indicates that their actions and political
positions will be heavily affected by the pursuit of votes. No doubt, many of them genuinely care about the
“public interest” and the quality of government, but they need to be elected to achieve their objectives,
whatever they might be. Moreover, if a candidate is going to be successful, their positive attributes must be
brought to the attention of rationally ignorant voters focused on their families, jobs, various civic activities, and
local sports teams (which are probably more entertaining). The successful candidate needs an expert staff,
sophisticated polling techniques to uncover popular issues and positions, and high-quality advertising to shape
his or her image favorably. This, of course, will be costly. It is not unusual for an incumbent candidate to the
U.S. Senate to spend $15 million or more seeking to win an election. In other words, votes are the necessary
objective of politicians, but money helps them get those votes. Predictably, the pursuit of campaign
contributions then shapes the actions of politicians, too.
Are we implying that politicians are selfish, caring only for their pocketbooks and reelection chances? The
answer is “No.” Factors other than personal political gain, narrowly defined, may well influence their actions.
Sometimes an elected official may feel so strongly about an issue that he or she will knowingly take a position
that is politically unpopular and damaging to his or her future electoral prospects. None of this is inconsistent
with the economic view of the political process. Over time, however, the politicians most likely to remain in
office are the ones who focus on how their actions will influence their slice that he or she gets, making it
possible for the rest of us to have a bigger slice, too. When a wealthy entrepreneur, such as Bill Gates or
Stephen King, has an income of, say, $100 million per year earned through voluntary exchanges in the
marketplace, he has enlarged the economic pie by an even larger amount. Here’s why: Suppose that Linda, a
freelance graphic artist, pays $175 for a new software program developed by Bill Gates. As a result, she can
do twice as much work in the same amount of time. Because she’s more productive, Linda can earn more than
enough additional income with the software to justify her purchase. In addition, the businesses she serves are
also likely to be better off because the software makes it possible for her to give them more and better service
and a lower price. More is produced in total. Thus, while Bill Gates gained, so, too, did Linda and her
customers. Similarly, had Stephen King never written a novel, not only would he not be as rich, but we would
also all be poorer for never having had the opportunity to read his novels. When income is acquired through
voluntary exchange, people who earn income also help others earn more income and live better, too.
Writing Prompt 1: Write about a recent invention or product that people in general or a certain group of people
(students, doctors, or parents, for example) benefit from. Explain the invention/product and its benefits
