The elections process is mind-boggling for most of us.  This is not incidental; it is designed to be this way.  The process forces emotions to run wild and common logic to be suspended.  It is a period when we become completely engrossed in finding the “messiah” who will emancipate us from all the evils of the current regime and magically transform the country into a land of “milk and honey”.  It is also a time when presidential “wannabes” make sweeping promises of mystical solutions to real problems.  They outline proposals for massive societal and infrastructural reforms that somehow will cost citizens nothing.  And herein lies the rub.

Political Promises Are Free, Reality Costs

Politicians, by profession, thrive on making “personal” promises to us which they know they cannot unilaterally fulfill.  That provides them with a cushion to mask their incompetence when they fail to deliver on their promises.  On this basis, politicians traditionally present themselves to the electorate as messianic personalities who can single-handedly reform entrenched social ills and massive infrastructural problems with no adverse economic impact on our personal finances.  Although aware of the impossibility of this, we continue to act as though political promises can indeed be realized at no personal economic cost.  But, to quote an old friend, everyone should be aware that “a promise is but comfort to a fool”.  The fact is that no social progress can be realized without someone footing a financial bill. » Read more: The Economic Reality of Political Promises