Wrongful Promises

"The best way to keep one's word is not to give it", said Napoleon Bonaparte, a French military and political leader during the French Revolution. Politicians all too often give their word out like it's free. People are left wondering though, "They promised me this, why haven't I seen any benefits of it yet, or did they just forget about it?" Politicians make promises because they have to have a foundation to stand on when campaigning for office. While they are campaigning, politicians will say basically anything just to know that they have your vote. That's harsh, but true. Politicians sometimes promise things though, and fully intend to keep the promise, but there are some reasons why it is not possible for them to keep the promises. One reason being that the intention of the promise might be good, but there are other people that decide whether the promise can be fulfilled or not (i.e. the House of Representatives introduces the ideas or laws, and the president just signs them into action).

When politicians try to keep their promise, there are often unintended consequences associated with the promise. For example, President Obama promised cleaner energy in America. He told taxpayers to invest in companies such as, Solyndra. On August 31, 2011, Solyndra announced that they were ceasing operations and laying off 1,100 full-time and temporary employees. In September of 2011, Solyndra filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. This is an example of the Obama administration's failure to properly manage government subsidies after the bankruptcy of Solyndra left taxpayers with $535 million in federally guaranteed loans. President Obama and other political leaders should not make promises without doing research first. The problem with promising cleaner energy, such as the products Solyndra offered its customers, is that you are introducing innovation into a commoditized market, something that President Obama cannot control. So you see, President Obama tried to promote cleaner energy, but should've waited before promising and convincing taxpayers to invest $535 million.

Another example would be the economic stimulus package. With this, President Obama promised a lower unemployment rate. With the Recovery Plan in place, the unemployment rate was supposed to reach 8% and then start falling. Without the Recovery Plan, it was supposed to reach 9% and then start falling. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law on February 13, 2009. In October of 2009 though, the unemployment rate reached 10%, the highest it has been since November of 1982. Was President Obama able to keep his promise? No, he gambled with the economy, yet again. This reinforces the idea that politicians should not promise something if they don't believe 100% that they can fulfill the promise.

There are plenty of promises made my politicians recently in which I strongly feel they