The Great Financial Meltdown of '08

[smc]

Originally Posted by ila

And yet after having watched several elections in the US (as an interested bystander) each person running for the US presidency has said that he is the one that will fix the economy.

Making promises that are IMPOSSIBLE or nearly impossible for a candidate to fulfill are part and parcel of every presidential campaign, regardless of candidate and regardless of party. For instance, during the Republican presidential primaries this year Michele Bachmann promised to return gasoline prices to the $2/gallon level. However, a president has nearly zero power to affect gasoline prices beyond getting a repeal of the 18.4 cent/gallon federal gas tax. OPEC and the market "set" gas prices through their control of the price of oil. Newt Gingrich promised to build a thriving human colony on the moon.