TJP

Voters should Choose Carefully

By Byron A. Ellis

January 29, 2008

Welfare economists indicate that poverty results from individuals choosing more leisure over work. They claim that if two individuals receive the same wage rate, the one that chooses to work more accrues a larger income. This is true if both individuals confront the same opportunities. Individuals under poor governance, however, confront limited opportunities.

Therefore, the fact that some individuals work more and receives more income does not necessarily imply that other individuals choose to work less. For instance, in regions where unemployment is high, such as central cities or rural communities, the work choices available to individuals is often limited. As a result, their opportunity set may not allow them the luxury of more work, or even work.

In essence, some welfare economists, pundits, and politicians fail to recognize that low individual income may be attributable to lack productive opportunities, as well as to individual preferences.  Lack educational opportunities and poor governance often lead to low individual productivity and poor choices.

Regional low productivity often results from government mismanagement. In regions where low productivity is prevalent, elected representatives are not transformational leaders; often they lack the skills and vision to expand the economy. As a result, they limit the opportunities of their constituents.

Nonetheless, it is productive output, adjusted for depreciation and taxes, which creates income for individuals and businesses. However, many politicians do not understand how the economy works. Rather, they believe that government income received through taxation is the answer for allocation resources and distributing income .

Thus, voters should look for transformational leadership that is visionary and inspirational. This type of leadership starts with shared vision, and a view of the future that is beneficial to the community. Transformational leaders understand the root causes of individual and community ills and put forth a vision that will eliminate or mitigate the root causes.

The position of welfare economist is no only applicable to individuals, but also it is applicable to community governance. In democracies, constituents’ preferences influence individual and community outcomes. Therefore, the choices of voters determine the type of leaders, as well as the type of governance and productive output that they inherit. And, as we have recently seen, a wrong choice can be disastrous for our nation and the rest of the world.

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