Sure, Because Democrats Don’t Hire Cronies

Reviewing Jeff Miron’s new book on libertarianism, Ed Glaeser writes:

The increased appeal of libertarianism today reflects a nonpartisan view that the public sector has been deeply problematic under either party…Libertarians tend to think that the Bush years taught that all governments were flawed, not that everything would be better with a new leader who would expand the public sector.

To which Mark Thoma responds:

The lesson of the Bush administration is not that ‘all governments were flawed.’ We learned about an extreme, i.e. how bad things can be when a president sabotages government agencies by appointing cronies — people who provided important political support — to head important agencies rather than qualified, competent administrators.

Ahhh, if only all men were angels….or democrats…Cf Robin Hanson on Delusions, preponderance thereof, section, Foragers.