Why People Vote for Counterproductive Policies
Human beings are really good at picking out cause-and-effect relationships. But they’re bad at predicting future consequences.
Governing is often a cause-and-effect business. Give workers a tax break on retirement accounts? More people save for life after the working world. Offer a rebate for old cars? Drivers scrap their gas-guzzling Explorers in favor of sensible Corollas, and average fuel efficiency goes up.
It’s easy to sell something to voters when the costs and benefits are immediately obvious. But that’s not how most policies work. Many look downright terrible in the beginning—what, pay taxes?—and deliver a payout only if people collectively change their future behavior. Take a carbon tax: Industry would pay more
