Opinion: The most important choices about our community shouldn’t be made on election day

Opinion by Todd Myers emphasizes how community impact relies on individual choices beyond election day.

Todd Myers says we should not forget that the real work of improving the lives of the people of Washington and the United States is done by individuals who innovate, create, and care for others

Todd Myers
Washington Policy Center

It is election day and people across Washington state and the nation are waiting to see what voters have to say about the direction of public policy in the country.

And while public policy can be very important – it is at the core of the work we do every day at the Washington Policy Center – the most important and consequential decisions should be made by individuals, families, entrepreneurs, volunteers, and others whose lives will be most impacted by those choices.

As Nobel prize winning economist Elinor Ostrom put it, “What we have ignored is what citizens can do and the importance of real involvement of the people versus just having somebody in Washington make a rule.”

The best education outcomes are created by parents and teachers who experience a child’s frustrations and achievements every day.

The best forest stewardship comes from those on the ground, like tribal foresters who work every day in reservation forests and face accountability for their choices.

Leaving decisions to patients and their doctors is more likely to deliver quality healthcare than when treatments are dictated by bureaucracies.

Entrepreneurs and innovators – whether at Amazon or your local butcher – do more to make our lives enjoyable and fulfilled than any state legislator.

While we want to elect competent public servants, if the success of our families, communities, and nation depends on the skills of elected officials, we are putting too much power in the hands of politicians.

Sometimes, politicians intentionally cultivate a sense of helplessness among the public. Politicians who claim that only they can make people’s lives better enhances their sense of importance and makes their work seem more meaningful. We can laud their desire to do meaningful work and make lives better, but it is not a justification for making people reliant on government or crowding out the work of people in the community.

We will be watching the election results like everyone else, but we should not forget that the real work of improving the lives of the people of Washington and the United States is done by individuals who innovate, create, and care for others.

WPC’s mission is to empower those people.

Todd Myers is the vice president for research at the Washington Policy Center.