Only with BANKRUPTCY (not Revolution) does the possibility of reform emerge. As the Socialists (unlike the French Communists or American Marxists such as Barack Obama) will not opt for the totalitarian alternative. That is certainly also true in Britain – no reform can be expected before bankruptcy. And may well be true in the United States also.
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Reform in the USA might also be forced by a youth movement promising to default on any debt incurred by current government, once the youth have themselves moved into positions of power. I can’t imagine there’d be all that many eager lenders – today – with that in the offing.
Now, how to prevent government from responding by inflating the currency? How about another movement, to pay legislators fixed salaries not adjustable for inflation?
As is said at instapundit: read the whole thing.
In fact go to permalink and lift a copy from this site.
It is quite striking that we somehow, in so many ways, seem to be back at the era beginning in the first quarter of the 20th century, and on into the 1930’s. Reading again The Revolt of the Masses and
The Good Society (which ultimately precipitated the Mount Pelerin Society); seeing the same political rhetoric (and many of the same labels, e.g., Social Justice); coupled with economic conditions that are approaching high similarity, does raise the spectre of a New Totalitarianism – though it may be an unintended or undesired consequence of the objectives of French, English or American collectivists.
As an aside to Paul Marks’ full comment: Politicians only fear, they do not respect.
I have always said the State will only reduce its extent and powers when the alternative is its own utter destruction, because it has either run out of money, or debased the money to such an extent the population are impoverished. Rather than ‘die’ it will save itself by reducing itself to that which can be sustained in the circumstances. Until that point is reached when there is no alternative, the State will continue to expand.
Indeed, Jim. And when things get better again, it will begin expanding again.
Walter Lippmann 1933
If by bankruptcy we mean default on debts, then the assertion that it enables reform can’t be true. Germany defaulted in the early 50s, and the ex-Nazis (and others) continued as before, merely getting richer. Russia did so 13 years ago, ditto. Even Argentina did it 9 years ago, and is still happily doing it.
On those examples, bankruptcy actually reinforced the position(s) of the elite(s), although some faces changed.
So, folks I’m afraid that it has to be revolution…
The poisonous political climate in the US is such that no one in politics can dare to express any intent to seriously cut back on the government as a whole, or entitlements specifically, without the entire scare machine cranking out wave after wave of crappola about how gramma’s going to starve and be thrown into the street.
I saw this first hand in my mother back in the 90’s when the various stories of evil intent by the contract for America to abolish social security and medicare had her nearly hysterical with fear and anger about a totally non-existent crisis.
The latest report on these huge programs has once again stated very clearly that they are approaching insolvency as the boomers retire over the next decade or so, yet any serious proposal to address the problems is stillborn due to the fear and unreality of so many citizens’ views on the whole question of reforming entitlement programs.
Senior citizens vote at a higher rate than the rest of the population, and pols are terrified of alienating them. The impossible demands of the current system upon young wage-earners may, at some point, cause them to become more active and vocal.
The current tea party groups organizing to nominate candidates and influence elections might provide a vehicle for entitlement reform if the general public finally wakes up to the fact that the ship is closing in on some very nasty rocks indeed.
As I have told my own children in our conversations about these issues, they are going to face some very complex and difficult decisions as time goes by.
RRS:
Very nice. Is that your own, or a quote from someone?
veryretired:
I can’t help thinking that if the U.S. could somehow break the two-party stalemate it would help things a lot. I used to think that the U.S. was better governed than Canada, where I live. But it seems to me that even if that were once true it’s not true any more, and I believe the multiple parties we have here are part of the explanation. Our Liberals are more moderate than American Democrats, at least in part because they have parties even further to the left who siphon off the truly mad. And our Conservatives are more moderate than American Republicans, perhaps mainly because our Liberals are moderate. Not that moderation is necessarily good, but it does seem that more bad ideas on both sides of the fence get marginalized here.
Of course, there’s always the argument that real change can only happen after collapse, in which case the U.S. is probably ahead of us.
V T –
Old saying I made up.
Tedd-
With the enactment of Amendment XVII the function of the “party system” in the U S began what has become the
steady erosion of the purpose of parties. What is likely to follow is proportional representation as the coalitions (large as in D and small as in R) breakout to seek more direct satisfactions for their interests, which now require time-consuming negotiations for positions of compromise.
What is now appearing as “attacks on motives,” (the principal form of poison) has to be focused more and more on opposing individual politicians by other politicians rather than on a “party.”
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!!
That should have been: V R
@ veryretired:
Politicians can’t reform Social Security because they can’t talk about it honestly, and they can’t talk about it honestly because the median voter doesn’t want to admit a basic fact: Grandpa is an embezzler.
VR, VT, old fart, I answer to most everything, so don’t worry about it.
Social security is a classic example of the way the statist/collectivist segment uses incremental advances to create an enormously expensive entitlement out of a fairly modest pension program over time.
The only way to recover the ability to modify this monstrosity downward is to have a two tier solution, in which current and near retirement people will be grandfathered through with the comprehensive benefits they have been told will be available.
This is the only way that needed reforms will be allowed by this very powerful electoral group.
Younger people must be dealt with frankly, and told clearly that, through no fault of their own, a modest retirement program was mutated by progressive steps into a monster budget eater that cannot be sustained for their generations as it is now, but must be carefully transformed into a private contribution format that is sustainable over the long term.
Chile, for one, has already done something along these lines, and so the model exists which can be modified to fit our needs. No reason to re-invent the wheel.
Fortunately, the boom echo generation is large, and its progeny also seem to be moving towards a large generation, so the numbers are there, if we can get the economy moving again.
Obviously, a growing economy is the key to everything else working out instead of crashing into a panic.
The key to the economy growing is energy development and independence, both of which are possible if the various levels of government get out of the way and allow the technological advances of recent years to operate under reasonable guidelines instead of maniacal obstructionism.
As I have said many times, this is no overnight program, but an outline for a steady, long-term effort to undo the tremendous damage the collectivists have caused to the republic, and to clarify all over again that the people as individuals are the repository of all rights and powers, and the state is a strictly limited servant, not an omnipotent master.
We have had men like Washington, and Marshall, and many others, who walked away from power when they could have had it, out of respect for the ideals of the constitution, and the rights and liberties guaranteed therein.
Such men and women are not as rare or unusual as we might think. They are called by the times that demand them, and, I fear, such times are here, and likely to demand a great deal from all of us before these problems can be dealt with, and the republic restored.
If we do not make the effort needed, or fail to persevere through all the difficult periods which are sure to come, then, to paraphrase a well known speaker, the spirits of all those who have fallen over the last two centuries in defense of this experiment will rise from their graves around this nation, and around the world, and rebuke our weakness and lack of conviction.
The man who would have been my father died in North Africa in 1942. I will not allow his shade to silently accuse me and mine of cowardice for losing the freedom he fought and died to preserve.
“Old saying I made up.”
That is the funniest remark I’ve seen all week.