The Great Default by Gary North

"Politicians lie. Voters believe. This is the great symbiotic relationship of democratic politics."

For older Americans, a single mental image above all others illustrates this perpetual relationship. It is their memory of the annual Sunday cartoon in the cartoon strip, "Peanuts," which was the most widely read cartoon strip – and therefore the most widely read anything – in the United States for at least three decades. The annual cartoon featured two children: the ever-mendacious Lucy, whose hand supported an upright football on the ground, who encouraged the ever-trusting Charlie Brown to run at the ball and kick it. He always believed her. At the last moment, she would pull the ball away, and Charlie would fly into the air, then land on his back. What changed each year was her argument on why she would not pull the ball away, and her final remark to Charlie, as he lay flat on his back. She thought he was stupidly naïve. He was. She always took advantage of him. Her philosophy was clear: "Never give a sucker an even break."

This scene is repeated every other November in the United States, when voters go to the polls. "This time, it will be different," cry the Congressional candidates. Then, for the next two years, they pull the ball away.

The only thing to top this exercise in mendacity in the United States is the testimony to each house of Congress delivered by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System. Not even the President's annual State of the Union address tops this performance.

The voters never learn. Congress never learns.

The coin of the political realm is the promise. Not money, not power: the promise. Politics sometimes looks like prostitution, with money at the center. This is an illusion. The voters do not come to Congress demanding money. They demand faithfulness. Congress is to the voters what a philanderer is to a mistress. He may shower her with presents, but the presents have meaning to her only because of the promise. "I plan to divorce my wife. It's just a matter of working out the details." She likes the presents, but she believes the promise: "You can trust me. We'll grow old together." She thinks the presents are forever.

He borrows the money to buy her the presents. When interest rates rise, she will find out just how reliable his promises have been.

This is the heart of modern democracy. Politicians promise undying faithfulness. Voters believe them.

That old curmudgeon always hits the nail right on the head. He has an older article about why high-school grads should NOT go to college, that I frequently reference and really like.