Why the government is so effing big... and why it's getting bigger.


moralist

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George Will: The harm incurred by a mushrooming welfare state
America’s national character will have to be changed if progressives are going to implement their agenda. So, changing social norms is the progressive agenda. To understand how far this has advanced, and how difficult it will be to reverse the inculcation of dependency, consider the data Nicholas Eberstadt deploys in National Affairs quarterly:

America’s welfare state transfers more than 14 percent of gross domestic product to recipients, with more than a third of Americans taking “need-based” payments. In our wealthy society, the government officially treats an unprecedented portion of the population as “needy.”

Transfers of benefits to individuals through social welfare programs have increased from less than 1 federal dollar in 4 (24 percent) in 1963 to almost 3 out of 5 (59 percent) in 2013. In that half-century, entitlement payments were, Eberstadt says, America’s “fastest growing source of personal income,” growing twice as fast as all other real per capita personal income. It is probable that this year a majority of Americans will seek and receive payments.

This is not primarily because of Social Security and Medicare transfers to an aging population. Rather, the growth is overwhelmingly in means-tested entitlements. More than twice as many households receive “anti-poverty” benefits than receive Social Security or Medicare. Between 1983 and 2012, the population increased by almost 83 million — and people accepting means-tested benefits increased by 67 million. So, for every 100-person increase in the population there was an 80-person increase in the recipients of means-tested payments. Food stamp recipients increased from 19 million to 51 million — more than the combined populations of 24 states.
The rest of the article can be read here...
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Your graph tells the tale, Mike.

In that half-century, entitlement payments were, Eberstadt says, America’s “fastest growing source of personal income,” growing twice as fast as all other real per capita personal income.

It is probable that this year a majority of Americans will seek and receive payments.

The event horizon has passed.

There can NEVER be a smaller government no matter who gets elected to office...

...until it COLLAPSES of its own dead weight.

Each individual American is personally responsible to save themselves from the government.

Greg

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The event horizon has passed.

There can NEVER be a smaller government no matter who gets elected to office...

...until it COLLAPSES of its own dead weight.

Each individual American is personally responsible to save themselves from the government.

Greg

you are right. The machine has so much inertia (of the social and economic kind) that it cannot be slowed except by destruction.

So either we have a Revolution (a cure which most likely is worse than the disease) or Self destruction (the contradictions of the system tear it apart).

Ba'al Chatzaf

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you are right. The machine has so much inertia (of the social and economic kind) that it cannot be slowed except by destruction.

With half of the country living off of means tested entitlements it's a done deal. Self destruction of the government is already built into the system.

So either we have a Revolution (a cure which most likely is worse than the disease) or Self destruction (the contradictions of the system tear it apart).

Ba'al Chatzaf

The most likely kind of revolution will be Marxist. When people lose their benefits because the government is unable to pay them. they'll get angry and blame (unjustly accuse) the government for their own failure to live like Americans. They'll also be angry at the rich who they will blame (unjustly accuse) for taking money away from them, when they've only screwed themselves.

You can see the seeds of this revolution already coming with the media's constant drumbeat of "INCOME INEQUALITY". Honestly, people are so incredibly stupid to believe the Marxist zero sum lie that someone else getting making money takes it away from them. Only people cashing benefits checks could believe that, idiocy... because they're too damned lazy to work to make their own money.

Greg

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I'll tell you why the government keeps getting bigger.

Its because when a governor or a president (mostly liberals) gets even a slight surplus, whether from receiving more tax money than they previously calculated, or from money won from lawsuits against companies breaking x laws, or the ending of time defined projects (such as war or infrastructure) .... Every FRICKING time.. instead of them taking the money and giving it back to the citizens, or using it to pay down debts, they decided now is the perfect time to start A NEW PROGRAM!!!

Its like their brains don't understand that if you start something with EXTRA money you have this year, that is no guarantee that you will have that extra supply of money next year. The new bills will keep coming in (causing more taxes and borrowing) the cronies will seek out the jobs created in this new department (creating waste as they hire more and more of their friends) and more than likely, the program will not actually DO anything.

Then when the program is challenged, more shallow jobs are created in order to lobby for the program to continue. These departments also burn through boat loads of money near the end of the fiscal year in order to prevent their budgets from being cut down to... I don't know.. maybe the amount they really need! Maybe down to nothing!

Rinse and repeat. The government can't bring itself to get rid of zombie departments and they then have a surplus elsewhere and create more zombie departments.

What really blows for me is when stuff that I want my money to go to gets ignored, like the bloody streets. Fix the the bloody STREETS!

Rant over and out

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I'll tell you why the government keeps getting bigger.

Its because when a governor or a president (mostly liberals) gets even a slight surplus, whether from receiving more tax money than they previously calculated, or from money won from lawsuits against companies breaking x laws, or the ending of time defined projects (such as war or infrastructure) .... Every FRICKING time.. instead of them taking the money and giving it back to the citizens, or using it to pay down debts, they decided now is the perfect time to start A NEW PROGRAM!!!

Its like their brains don't understand that if you start something with EXTRA money you have this year, that is no guarantee that you will have that extra supply of money next year. The new bills will keep coming in (causing more taxes and borrowing) the cronies will seek out the jobs created in this new department (creating waste as they hire more and more of their friends) and more than likely, the program will not actually DO anything.

Then when the program is challenged, more shallow jobs are created in order to lobby for the program to continue. These departments also burn through boat loads of money near the end of the fiscal year in order to prevent their budgets from being cut down to... I don't know.. maybe the amount they really need! Maybe down to nothing!

Rinse and repeat. The government can't bring itself to get rid of zombie departments and they then have a surplus elsewhere and create more zombie departments.

What really blows for me is when stuff that I want my money to go to gets ignored, like the bloody streets. Fix the the bloody STREETS!

Rant over and out

Instead of using the surplus to fix our crumbling bridges, broken water mains and rotted out sewer pipes they hire their cronies instead.

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I'll tell you why the government keeps getting bigger.

Its because when a governor or a president (mostly liberals) gets even a slight surplus, whether from receiving more taxarrow-10x10.png moneyarrow-10x10.png than they previously calculated, or from money won from lawsuits against companies breaking x laws, or the ending of time defined projects (such as war or infrastructure) .... Every FRICKING time.. instead of them taking the money and giving it back to the citizens, or using it to pay down debts, they decided now is the perfect time to start A NEW PROGRAM!!!

Its like their brains don't understand that if you start something with EXTRA money you have this year, that is no guarantee that you will have that extra supply of money next year. The new bills will keep coming in (causing more taxesarrow-10x10.png and borrowing) the cronies will seek out the jobs created in this new department (creating waste as they hire more and more of their friends) and more than likely, the program will not actually DO anything.

Then when the program is challenged, more shallow jobs are created in order to lobby for the program to continuearrow-10x10.png. These departments also burn through boat loads of money near the end of the fiscal year in order to prevent their budgets from being cut down to... I don't know.. maybe the amount they really need! Maybe down to nothing!

Rinse and repeat. The government can't bring itself to get rid of zombie departments and they then have a surplus elsewhere and create more zombie departments.

What really blows for me is when stuff that I want my money to go to gets ignored, like the bloody streets. Fix the the bloody STREETS!

Rant over and out

Derek, your description is perfectly valid as long as you realize that it is only an effect and not a cause. The people who are elected to office live by the same values as those who elected them. They literally represent them. The parasitism and fiscal irresponsibility of government bureaucrats is equal to the parasitism and personal fiscal irresponsibility of the people who put them into office.

No one could never expect those in government to properly handle other peoples' money...

...when the people who elected them can't even properly handle their own money.

The way out of this conundrum will never be found as a collective. The only possible resolution is individual...

...and that is by learning how to live like an American.

Greg

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I'll tell you why the government keeps getting bigger.

Its because when a governor or a president (mostly liberals) gets even a slight surplus, whether from receiving more taxarrow-10x10.png moneyarrow-10x10.png than they previously calculated, or from money won from lawsuits against companies breaking x laws, or the ending of time defined projects (such as war or infrastructure) .... Every FRICKING time.. instead of them taking the money and giving it back to the citizens, or using it to pay down debts, they decided now is the perfect time to start A NEW PROGRAM!!!

Its like their brains don't understand that if you start something with EXTRA money you have this year, that is no guarantee that you will have that extra supply of money next year. The new bills will keep coming in (causing more taxesarrow-10x10.png and borrowing) the cronies will seek out the jobs created in this new department (creating waste as they hire more and more of their friends) and more than likely, the program will not actually DO anything.

Then when the program is challenged, more shallow jobs are created in order to lobby for the program to continuearrow-10x10.png. These departments also burn through boat loads of money near the end of the fiscal year in order to prevent their budgets from being cut down to... I don't know.. maybe the amount they really need! Maybe down to nothing!

Rinse and repeat. The government can't bring itself to get rid of zombie departments and they then have a surplus elsewhere and create more zombie departments.

What really blows for me is when stuff that I want my money to go to gets ignored, like the bloody streets. Fix the the bloody STREETS!

Rant over and out

Derek, your description is perfectly valid as long as you realize that it is only an effect and not a cause. The people who are elected to office live by the same values as those who elected them. They literally represent them. The parasitism and fiscal irresponsibility of government bureaucrats is equal to the parasitism and personal fiscal irresponsibility of the people who put them into office.

No one could never expect those in government to properly handle other peoples' money...

...when the people who elected them can't even properly handle their own money.

The way out of this conundrum will never be found as a collective. The only possible resolution is individual...

...and that is by learning how to live like an American.

Greg

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I'll tell you why the government keeps getting bigger.

Its because when a governor or a president (mostly liberals) gets even a slight surplus, whether from receiving more taxarrow-10x10.png moneyarrow-10x10.png than they previously calculated, or from money won from lawsuits against companies breaking x laws, or the ending of time defined projects (such as war or infrastructure) .... Every FRICKING time.. instead of them taking the money and giving it back to the citizens, or using it to pay down debts, they decided now is the perfect time to start A NEW PROGRAM!!!

Its like their brains don't understand that if you start something with EXTRA money you have this year, that is no guarantee that you will have that extra supply of money next year. The new bills will keep coming in (causing more taxesarrow-10x10.png and borrowing) the cronies will seek out the jobs created in this new department (creating waste as they hire more and more of their friends) and more than likely, the program will not actually DO anything.

Then when the program is challenged, more shallow jobs are created in order to lobby for the program to continuearrow-10x10.png. These departments also burn through boat loads of money near the end of the fiscal year in order to prevent their budgets from being cut down to... I don't know.. maybe the amount they really need! Maybe down to nothing!

Rinse and repeat. The government can't bring itself to get rid of zombie departments and they then have a surplus elsewhere and create more zombie departments.

What really blows for me is when stuff that I want my money to go to gets ignored, like the bloody streets. Fix the the bloody STREETS!

Rant over and out

Derek, your description is perfectly valid as long as you realize that it is only an effect and not a cause. The people who are elected to office live by the same values as those who elected them. They literally represent them. The parasitism and fiscal irresponsibility of government bureaucrats is equal to the parasitism and personal fiscal irresponsibility of the people who put them into office.

No one could never expect those in government to properly handle other peoples' money...

...when the people who elected them can't even properly handle their own money.

The way out of this conundrum will never be found as a collective. The only possible resolution is individual...

...and that is by learning how to live like an American.

Greg

I have some difficulty with this. To the extent that elected officials lie about the cause and effect of the various 'solutions' they are offering about solving problems and their constituents believe these lies the values of the liars and the people who vote for them differ greatly. They say they're going to help people, but all of these social programs keep resulting in more disparate results then more lies, more regulation, more waste, less freedom, an endless cycle. What explains the fact that a very few years ago poll results show 2/3rds of the United States self identified as 'conservative' but we end up with the government we have now? Campaign lies equal disenfranchisement, more so than thugs at polling places. Lies and the people who fall for them don't mean they share equal values. Mocking hard work (you didn't build that), then hand-outs, the pols know exactly what they're doing, it ain't the rich they despise. If you despise and denigrate ordinary people with good intentions who are being misled you have that in common with the liars being elected.

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I have some difficulty with this.

No problem, Mike... I'll walk you thorough it. It's ok for each of us to see this differently. :smile:

To the extent that elected officials lie about the cause and effect of the various 'solutions' they are offering about solving problems and their constituents believe these lies the values of the liars and the people who vote for them differ greatly.

As I see it, the person who lies and the person who believes their lies both share the same values.

Take another look at the sentence you wrote above.

Question: Who would believe the lie that the government could have solutions for their problems?

Answer: Only someone who can't solve their own problems.

And what is the shared value?

Neither the lying government or the person who believes the lies of the government can solve their own problems! :laugh:

What explains the fact that a very few years ago poll results show 2/3rds of the United States self identified as 'conservative' but we end up with the government we have now?

A person calling themselves a Conservative...

...and actually living like one are obviously two very different things.

If you despise and denigrate ordinary people with good intentions who are being misled you have that in common with the liars being elected.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. It's what we actually do, not what we intend to do that makes the world around us what it is.

I love old sayings that stood the test of time because they have wisdom in them.

"The easiest man to con is a con man."

"You can't cheat an honest man."

See?

Shared values. :wink:

Greg

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I have some difficulty with this.

No problem, Mike... I'll walk you thorough it. It's ok for each of us to see this differently. :smile:

To the extent that elected officials lie about the cause and effect of the various 'solutions' they are offering about solving problems and their constituents believe these lies the values of the liars and the people who vote for them differ greatly.
As I see it, the person who lies and the person who believes their lies both share the same values.

Take another look at the sentence you wrote above.

Question: Who would believe the lie that the government could have solutions for their problems?

Answer: Only someone who can't solve their own problems.

And what is the shared value?

Neither the lying government or the person who believes the lies of the government can solve their own problems! :laugh:

What explains the fact that a very few years ago poll results show 2/3rds of the United States self identified as 'conservative' but we end up with the government we have now?
A person calling themselves a Conservative...

...and actually living like one are obviously two very different things.

If you despise and denigrate ordinary people with good intentions who are being misled you have that in common with the liars being elected.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. It's what we actually do, not what we intend to do that makes the world around us what it is.

I love old sayings that stood the test of time because they have wisdom in them.

"The easiest man to con is a con man."

"You can't cheat an honest man."

See?

Shared values. :wink:

Greg

Greg,

Sometimes you say something and at first reading I think "Greg cannot POSSIBLY believe that". Then I read it again and the sentence can be taken in so many ways that depending on the perspective it could be plausible. As in "As I see it, the person who lies and the person who believes their lies both share the same values." With respect to leftists and their socialist lackey elected 'leaders', like our esteemed Boxer and Pelosi (may they both rot in hell) they indeed share the same "Robin Hood" values. The majority of people who are not leftist ideologues are simply trying to get a better deal in a system which has been transformed from a principled rule of law to an arbitrary system of rules run by unelected self interested bureaucrats. It has been, by design, made more and more difficult for people to solve their own problems, the lower levels of entrepreneurship are harder and harder. Labor laws make it beyond absurd for a homeowner, for instance, to accept an offer of work for food or a few bucks from a down on his luck guy walking down the street. The guy could bump his head and sue you and end up owning your house, or who knows the fines you would owe for not knowing the licensing, permit fees, minimum wages, insurance. Who would take that chance? And when is the last time you saw a kid going around a neighborhood asking to mow your lawn for five bucks? As a private business owner yourself, I'm certain you are as familiar with the codes, licensing, permitting, safety and inspection rules for your trade as the inspectors who check your work. I'd bet you know them better than they do, most of them aren't the brightest candles. You've jumped that hurdle, you've adapted to your business over many years. The gradual increase in regulation you've acclimated to a bit at a time. What about someone starting out? Say a young guy just out of the Air Force or Navy, trained as an electrician? His knowledge of electrical theory, troubleshooting skills, work ethic could be top notch. He could buy a library of books on the latest electrical codes and devices. It would be against the law for him to fix an electrical problem in his own house let alone offer his services to someone else for money. So he enrolls in a local community college or trade school to learn the rules you already know by heart, perhaps he votes for a politician who provides promises, 'help' through subsidies or loans for him to learn the tricks of the trade you already know so well. But, for him, these are simply roadblocks. He votes for the guy who promises him a way through the morass. He knows he can do what he is trained to do, accepts that society requires him to learn an additional set of rules because 'everybody plays by the rules'. He knows much of it is a con job but his choice is play by the rules or be a criminal. You are actually benefiting by these roadblocks to your potential competitors. You may not vote for the same guys but these roadblocks to competition help you make a living. And I'm sure you're on a first name basis with all of the inspectors in your area. Everybody involved has a different set of values, each has their own self interest in mind which controls their actions. Everybody is playing the same game, you as much as anyone. You wouldn't be able to stay in business if you weren't complying with the same rules and the longer you are in business the more you benefit from knowing the rules, how to comply and how to get around them. Rules, rules, rules, principles be damned. It's who you know, what you know, and whether you're willing to play the game.

Regarding your two old sayings:

"The easiest man to con is a con man."

"You can't cheat an honest man."

The only possible origin of these sayings would be a con man himself. A con man is a predator, a rule of nature is predators do not prey on other predators because non-predators are much easier prey. The only possible explanation for the second is it is another way of saying "there are no honest men", a very cynical expression most certainly not true. In a culture where honesty is expected from others, deals are made with a handshake and your rarely meet a dishonest person a con man, a dishonest person, could freely ply his trade. He'd have to keep moving to keep from being called out but he could easily cheat honest men. Your platitudes don't stand up to scrutiny, are of questionable origin, and are not a substitute for argument.

In a sense the elites now ruling the country (elected officials, bureaucrats, lawyers, academics, crony capitalists) and the rest of the population share the same value of everyone is trying to serve what they see as their best interest. But the value of hard work, respecting others, ethical behavior and the value of honesty differ greatly. Though the cynicism caused by decades of loss of freedom is eroding everyone's self respect and respect for their fellows. There are few hopeful bright lights, here is one I found on RoR (Roslyn Ross on parenting):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-8JDpT1mSM

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Wow, Mike. You brought up so many interesting points I hardly know where to start. So I'll respond to the most prominent ones.

Greg,

Sometimes you say something and at first reading I think "Greg cannot POSSIBLY believe that". Then I read it again and the sentence can be taken in so many ways that depending on the perspective it could be plausible. As in "As I see it, the person who lies and the person who believes their lies both share the same values."



The majority of people who are not leftist ideologues are simply trying to get a better deal in a system which has been transformed from a principled rule of law to an arbitrary system of rules run by unelected self interested bureaucrats.


The best deals are found outside the system, because that's where the "principled rule of law" operates. :smile:

It has been, by design, made more and more difficult for people to solve their own problems, the lower levels of entrepreneurship are harder and harder. Labor laws make it beyond absurd for a homeowner, for instance, to accept an offer of work for food or a few bucks from a down on his luck guy walking down the street. The guy could bump his head and sue you and end up owning your house, or who knows the fines you would owe for not knowing the licensing, permit fees, minimum wages, insurance.


There's an old Bible verse that says:

For every temptation there is a way of escape.

Who would take that chance?


Wisdom is knowing when and when not to take that chance. Through becoming a keen observer of human nature, you can know when it is safe by knowing when it is not safe.

And when is the last time you saw a kid going around a neighborhood asking to mow your lawn for five bucks? As a private business owner yourself, I'm certain you are as familiar with the codes, licensing, permitting, safety and inspection rules for your trade as the inspectors who check your work. I'd bet you know them better than they do, most of them aren't the brightest candles. You've jumped that hurdle, you've adapted to your business over many years. The gradual increase in regulation you've acclimated to a bit at a time. What about someone starting out? Say a young guy just out of the Air Force or Navy, trained as an electrician? His knowledge of electrical theory, troubleshooting skills, work ethic could be top notch. He could buy a library of books on the latest electrical codes and devices. It would be against the law for him to fix an electrical problem in his own house let alone offer his services to someone else for money.


"For every temptation there is a way of escape."



So he enrolls in a local community college or trade school to learn the rules you already know by heart, perhaps he votes for a politician who provides promises, 'help' through subsidies or loans for him to learn the tricks of the trade you already know so well.


There's a better way to learn than going into debt and sitting in school. And that's getting a job as a "grunt". The most menial low paying job in any trade is a far better education than the most expensive government student loan schooling.

(more later...)

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But, for him, these are simply roadblocks. He votes for the guy who promises him a way through the morass.

Well. there it is again...

This is a person who cannot solve his own problems believing the lie that a government that can't solve its own problems can solve his.

He knows he can do what he is trained to do, accepts that society requires him to learn an additional set of rules because 'everybody plays by the rules'.

It takes wisdom to know when to play by the rules and when not to. Some times what is morally right to do falls outside the boundaries of the rules. And since morality is of a higher order than legality...

He knows much of it is a con job but his choice is play by the rules or be a criminal. You are actually benefiting by these roadblocks to your potential competitors. You may not vote for the same guys but these roadblocks to competition help you make a living.

Living in a small town I know my "competitors", and there's plenty of work for all of us.

And I'm sure you're on a first name basis with all of the inspectors in your area. Everybody involved has a different set of values, each has their own self interest in mind which controls their actions. Everybody is playing the same game, you as much as anyone. You wouldn't be able to stay in business if you weren't complying with the same rules and the longer you are in business the more you benefit from knowing the rules, how to comply and how to get around them. Rules, rules, rules, principles be damned.

In my business principles are blessings. I get to choose how I operate, and moral law trumps rules every time. This is the key to success.

Regarding your two old sayings:

"The easiest man to con is a con man."

"You can't cheat an honest man."

The only possible origin of these sayings would be a con man himself. A con man is a predator, a rule of nature is predators do not prey on other predators because non-predators are much easier prey.

A con man is someone who is self deceived. He believes the lie that conning others is in his best interests when it isn't, and he cannot con others without first conning himself.

A con man cannot cheat an honest man who does not want to possess what is not rightfully his. Only someone who wants to obtain what they did not rightfully earn can be conned.

In a culture where honesty is expected from others, deals are made with a handshake and your rarely meet a dishonest person a con man, a dishonest person, could freely ply his trade.

Not in the culture that is within my personal sphere of influence. In 35 years, I've only written one contract, and (ironically) that one was 35 years ago. The people with whom I deal are just like me, so business deal handshakes are freely given and freely accepted. We are honored to uphold the trust of people who are worthy of our trust. Con men never stand a chance when everyone's moral eyes are open. They have their own kind upon which to feed.

Your platitudes don't stand up to scrutiny, are of questionable origin, and are not a substitute for argument.

I'd never presume to argue, Mike. :smile:

Because a having different view doesn't threaten mine.

Greg

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I just received "How to Con Greg" from Amazon. We'll soon see about all this grandstanding of his.

I can't take credit for this approach because it's not my idea. I just followed someone else's good advice and it works like a charm:

"Whoever gives attention to the Lord’s word prospers,

and blessed is the person who trusts the Lord."

Proverbs 16:20

(all the "Lord's word" means is what is objectively right)

You can literally take that one to the bank. :wink:

And funny you should mention the Tar Pits. Years ago, I installed a methane detector in a home on Masselin Avenue just a couple of blocks from the Pits whose basement had tar steadily seeping into it. There was no way to mitigate it, so the guy threw their leftover bones down there! :laugh:

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  • 1 year later...

.

This is a thoroughly excellent thread.

Plato translated the various constitutions of individual souls into the (de facto) constitutions of various states when those various individuals are the ruler(s). I think there is some truth in that. The idea that hatred and violence of the state is reflection of those things in the individuals (the individuals in her royal family anyway) is pronounced by Katherine Hepburn in the superb film Lion in Winter.

We should be aware, however, that in a democracy, including this republican form of it, we are immersed in collective-action problems of lawmaking and of electing officials. Each Congressperson or President can come up with a budget that they think ideal and that is a balanced budget. The problem is that those budgets would be very different from each other, compromises will go into the eventual actual budget, and many will compromise on the feature of balance.

But don’t despair. Don’t give up the ship. It has weathered many storms even with its democratic need for (ultimately) collective action in the realm of legal framework. Last I heard, this country is in the aggregate the most productive country in the world. Even if it became second to China in that, it is remarkable that a country with only 300+ million people should be that productive. With right sort of political economy, any country with more people than USA should be able to out-produce USA once they have grown their capital structure sufficiently. Countries with such populations have enough natural resource to work with, and even if all the countries in the world but theirs sank into the sea, they should still be able to reach a level of production and well-being higher than was ever attained by USA so far. Sure, darker days for America may be ahead, but brighter even more productive days also remains a real possibility.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Russia had sunk so low and so controlled by the state that it took many decades before it could steadily produce enough to keep everyone alive. A poignant scene of disillusionment set in 1925 Leningrad by Ayn Rand in We the Living (1936), Kira speaking to her Communist lover Andrei:

Quote

“Andrei, did you ever think that it was you—your comrades—who drove the men you call speculators into what they are doing—because you left them no choice?”

“I know it. And yet—we were to raise men to our own level. But they don’t rise, the men we’re ruling, they don’t grow, they’re shrinking. They’re shrinking to a level no human creatures ever reached. And we’re [the Communist revolutionaries who won the power] sliding slowly down into their own ranks. We’re crumbling like a wall, one by one. Kira, I’ve never been afraid. I’m afraid now. . . .”

“Andrei, . . . of all people, I’m the one who can help you least. You know it.”

He laughed softly: “But you are helping me, Kira. You’re the only one in this whole world who’s helping me.”

She whispered: “Why?”

“Because, no matter what happens, I still have you. Because no matter what human wreckage I have to see, I still have you. And—in you—I still know what a human being can be.” (408)

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I almost agree with you, Stephen, except for geo-political concerns, the ideal physical place of the United States in the world and its superb river system, and the Christian nature of the citizenry, especially the dominant protestant orientation. There is also lack of warfare acting directly on the country. The US goes abroad to fight.

--Brant

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1 hour ago, Brant Gaede said:

I almost agree with you, Stephen, except for geo-political concerns, the ideal physical place of the United States in the world and its superb river system, and the Christian nature of the citizenry, especially the dominant protestant orientation. There is also lack of warfare acting directly on the country. The US goes abroad to fight.

--Brant

Here is what Lincoln had to say about that:

-At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it?-- Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never!--All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.

At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.

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