Politicians take credit, but usually not blame for things that happen during their administrations. North Dakota had a great run when many other states were struggling because it was able to frack and retrieve oil. What annoyed me at the time, was the tendency of politicians running and representing the state (translate as mostly republicans) to take credit for this prosperity. The “easy” money in hard times allowed cutting taxes and job growth. Re-election was easy and even encouraged some to encourage other states to look to North Dakota as an example. At the time, I suggested that the brilliance of the North Dakota politicians was positioning the state on top of huge numbers of dead dinosaurs.
Changing circumstances can reveal the flaws in bad plans and claims of brilliance. I have been gone from the state and working at the University now for a couple of years. I still keep up on what is happening and I know institutions have been asked to cut budgets, leave open positions open, and make other adjustments to help the state deal with shortfalls. Today, I see the state is closing rest stops in an effort to reduce spending. Perhaps this is an effort to encourage greater reliance on the “public sector”.
I don’t read much about politicians stepping up to take the same responsibility for the down turn. Pretty much the same cast of characters, but the spin will have to be a little different this election season.