Carter Economics

IN order to understand Mr. Carter’s economic policies, it is important to realize that his voting strength lies among the poor and the unemployed. By adopting policies that will increase poverty and unemployment, Carter can thus be assured of more votes.

Back in 1972, a government pamphlet boasted that “thousands of mentally retarded men and woman have been placed in federal jobs during the last eight and a half years.” An admirable policy, but it may have been carried too far. By now, the figure must be in the hundreds of thousands, and evidently includes a few congressmen and Cabinet members. The consequences have not been encouraging:

About the Author

Alan Reynolds

Alan Reynolds, National Review’s economics editor from 1972 to 1976, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of Income and Wealth.

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IN order to understand Mr. Carter’s economic policies, it is important to realize that his voting strength lies among the poor and the unemployed. By adopting policies that will increase poverty and unemployment, Carter can thus be assured of more votes.

Back in 1972, a government pamphlet boasted that “thousands of mentally retarded men and woman have been placed in federal jobs during the last eight and a half years.” An admirable policy, but it may have been carried too far. By now, the figure must be in the hundreds of thousands, and evidently includes a few congressmen and Cabinet members. The consequences have not been encouraging: