A Governor Every Day

As the whole world knows by now, the governor of South Carolina went on a four day hike and did not announce where he was going.

Listening to the media reaction, you would have thought that a pilot had bailed out of a passenger plane in mid-air. Peculiar. Irresponsible. Unprofessional. And these were the words his allies used.

Yet, who really needs a governor every day? David Henderson, Associate Professor of Economics at the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy, Naval Postgraduate School, makes a good point when he writes, "many people think that without a governor in charge, our lives would be in chaos. But ask yourself. How often through the day or even through the year do you consult the governor before taking action? You could argue that without the governor around, certain big spending or regulatory decisions would not be made. And that's necessarily bad?"

Henderson concludes, "The thinking behind the headlines is the same as the thinking behind the claim that a governor runs a state or a president runs the country. Fortunately, they don't. The headlines would be hilarious if not for the seriously distorted understanding of the world that it demonstrates."