LOBBYISTS GET ‘SPECTACULAR RETURNS’
[The
Nobel-Prize-winning authors George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller]
“are
concerned
about a clever electoral strategy commonly used to hook ‘phishable voters.’ With
this strategy, politicians endorse policies that ‘appeal to the typical voter on issues
that are salient to her, and where she will be informed,’ while also adopting a ‘stance that
appeals to donors’ on issues on which the typical voter is uninformed. Because of the
largely unregulated system for corporate donations, lobbyists can enjoy spectacular
returns, as when they give money with the hope of extracting votes, or favors, on
high-stakes issues (such as regulation of savings and loan companies or highly
technical tax questions) that are too complex to attract the attention of most voters.”
about a clever electoral strategy commonly used to hook ‘phishable voters.’ With
this strategy, politicians endorse policies that ‘appeal to the typical voter on issues
that are salient to her, and where she will be informed,’ while also adopting a ‘stance that
appeals to donors’ on issues on which the typical voter is uninformed. Because of the
largely unregulated system for corporate donations, lobbyists can enjoy spectacular
returns, as when they give money with the hope of extracting votes, or favors, on
high-stakes issues (such as regulation of savings and loan companies or highly
technical tax questions) that are too complex to attract the attention of most voters.”
Sunstein, Cass R, ‘Why Free Markets Make Fools of Us,’ in The
New York Review, October 22, 2015, pp: 40-42, a review of Phishing
forPhools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception, by George A.
Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller, Princeton University Press, 2015.
[In their book, Akerlof and Shiller use unusual
spellings for “fish” and “fished.”]
