The traditional Democratic method of getting votes has been to promise to "take from the rich and give to the middle class and the poor". It is basic Socialism philosophy and very difficult to argue with. We all want to provide for the disadvantaged, but human nature distorts this Socialism philosophy and tends to create an "entitlement culture" whereby many people feel that rather than take responsibility for themselves, they "deserve" a share of the pie, even if they took no part in earning it.
But Socialism has never been successful because those that work hard to make the pie quickly lose their incentive, while the entitlement culture continues to grow as they get used to receiving their free welfare check, food stamps, health care, housing subsidy, etc. etc...
Former Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher once said; "The problem with Socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other peoples money".
At the federal level we have not reached that point for one simple reason - the Fed simply prints more money whenever they need it, resulting in a debt that is staggering and will effect generations to come. But the states cannot print money so they are now "running out of other peoples money":
- The city of Los Angeles is contemplating reducing all but essential services to three days a week because they are out of money.
- The state of California, $21 billion in debt recently announced that their state employee pension funds are "underfunded" by almost $500 billion.
- Ten thousand residents of New York City have recently been told that they will not receive their housing subsidy...the City is broke.
- Today 33 states have reported that they do not have enough money to fund their unemployment obligations.
These examples are just the "tip of the iceberg" as our entitlement culture is starting to see the reality of a socialistic society. When the "takers" outnumber the "producers" the society begins its collapse. Or as one wise person put it the other day; "When the number of people riding in the wagon outnumbers the people pulling the wagon, the wagon stops".
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
My name is Chuck. My grand kids gave me the name "Chuckie D"...and it stuck. This blog will not discuss any controversial subjects...only the simpler subjects such as politics, religion, abortion, immigration, and of course, Global Warming.
About Me
- Chuckie D
- Templeton, California, United States
- Married to a wonderful lady, have six great kids along with their spouses, and the coolest grand kids anyone could ask for. I worked all my life in the underwater instrument/camera business, founding my own company in 1979. In 1993 we sold our business and retired to the Central Coast of California and live on a 20 acre ranch in a home we built ourselves. I have always been an athlete, competing in football, baseball, basketball, long distance running, and triathlons most of my adult life, until "father time" caught up to me. Now I swim, walk, and bike, but my joints say "no more running or competitive sports!" In retirement, I farm a small vineyard with Pinot Noir and Viognier vines, and make wine in a small winery we built on our property. And yes, it is good wine.
3 comments:
WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) - U.S. fiscal policy "is unsustainable," the head of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office told reporters in Washington.
Speaking at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor, CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said fixing the problem will require fundamental changes.
"U.S. fiscal policy is unsustainable, and unsustainable to an extent that it can't be solved through minor changes," Elmendorf said.
"It's a matter of arithmetic."
Full story
WASHINGTON, April 9 (MNI) - [Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben] Bernanke, in remarks Wednesday to the Dallas Regional Chamber, said American fiscal policy is heading in the wrong direction and that as the population ages the U.S. "must begin now to prepare for this coming demographic transition."
"The arithmetic is, unfortunately, quite clear. To avoid large and unsustainable budget deficits, the nation will ultimately have to choose among higher taxes, modifications to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, less spending on everything else from education to defense, or some combination of the above," Bernanke said.
Full story
Sadly the government is unwilling to reduce their expenses - in fact they are expanding. Government employees cannot even be layed off or fired. So...taxes, taxes, taxes.
Post a Comment