Leadership versus Power

Good leaders are willing to pursue unpopular policies. They realize it’s necessary for long-term viability. Many leaders don’t do the unpopular but necessary. Instead, they pursue popular but shortsighted policies. These policies sound good, but delay necessary reform. They enhance their personal power, but make long-term success more challenging. Jimmy Carter appointed Paul Volcker as FED Chair. Carter gave him a mandate to deal with the terrible inflation of the late 1970s. Volcker did, and his actions exacted a high political price from Carter. At first, Volcker’s federal funds rate increased unemployment. Later, it resolved the inflation problem and employment recovered. I finished college at the end of Carter’s first term. I didn’t like him. His policies were not making it easier for me to find a job. But Carter’s policies led to 35 years of low inflation, job growth, and prosperity. Carter lost the 1982 Presidential election. He also created the foundation for decades of…