Listening to the wrong guys

People come up with all sorts of ideas. The ones that make the market place are voted on by consumers who either buy the product or they do not. Success or failure is rewarded accordingly.
It would be of enormous benefit if governmental ideas were put to the same type of evaluation. Some of these are put to the test of elections every few years but some are the work of appointees who seem immune to the process. There should be some kind of scorecard kept to memorialize the idea, who supported/promoted it and whether it worked. Some examples are instructive:

Years ago those of a certain political philosophy determined that the right thing to do was to make it really easy for immigrants to not learn how to speak English. Governmental instructions, the entire education system, voting, signs and most everything else became bi- and then multi- lingual. Look how much better it would be if everyone spoke English. It would certainly better for the immigrants who would be more able to contribute to the economy and cheaper in tax money. It was just an incorrect decision.

In the 1990’s the people running Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae determined that it would be a good idea to increase the percentage of subprime loans in their portfolios. So they changed their lending standards and bought as many of these loans as the banks could sell them. These loans were made regardless of down payment, with no proof of income and no credit check. That didn’t work. Who is responsible? Google: What They Said About Fan and Fred

China is currently building 25 nuclear plants; France gets most of her energy from nuclear sources. The United States, thanks to the determined opposition of a few, has not built a nuclear plant in more than 30 years. We export big bucks to buy oil and fund terrorism against ourselves. Which party is associated with opposition to nuclear plants?

The current Administration is showing its commitment to current technology by promoting expansion of the trains which were the really hot technology in the 19th Century and by building windmills which people with wooden shoes popularized in the 16th Century but were around before that.

Several years ago, electronic signs began to appear on NY parkways informing riders how long it was going to take to get from where they were to a spot 8-15 miles away. The State spent tax money to develop, install and maintain this worthless addition to our knowledge base. Whose idea was this? Is he still employed by the State? Why?

The list goes on and on and the same people are the wrong side all the time. But they manage to stay around. Maybe that makes them the smart ones.