The public has a solid record of making “the right calls” when it comes to assessing a variety of policy issues. In contrast, conclusions from Washington are often very different from the public’s view, heavily influenced by political trade-offs or myopic thinking.  It’s unfortunate that flawed logic and untested ideas generate bad results.

Here’s a great example described in a New York Times article on January 1, 2010 – U.S. Loan Effort Is Seen as Adding to Housing Woes. Some experts are now saying that the $75 billion program to protect homeowners has done more harm than good.

While many Americans questioned the potential impact of the loan modifications, the government sold the program as an important step to contain the foreclosure crisis. Now Treasury officials are concluding that growing numbers of delinquent borrowers simply lack enough income to afford their homes and must be eased out. As a result, officials have lengthened the crisis and failed to solve the problem.

Rasmussen polls indicate that voters reached this very conclusion as early as December 2007. See a summary “Public Way Ahead of Treasury Officials on Mortgage Crisis.” Rasmussen concludes: “But then most voters for months have had more confidence in their own economic judgment that in that of the president or the average member of Congress.” Congratulations guys, we seem to be getting it right.