Maybe the only solution

From a political and economics point of view, this post by a commenter to an article about the debt crises by Victor Davis Hanson, sums up the thinking of many conservatives.  The dilemma in which we now find ourselves has gone beyond the tipping point to the crises point and only a major overhaul of the system can save the day.

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  glennd1 • 8 hours ago

  
  

  I'm coming to believe that the best thing the advocates of liberty and responsible govt can do is to drive the current fed govt into insolvency, so just like a corporation, we can re-organize. We should take Rahm Emanuel's admonition to "never let a crisis go to waste" to heart. We will only have the opportunity to really change the govt entitlement state, the labor laws that provide privilege to unions and to stop funding the states, localities and NGOs that are the feeder system of Progresssive careers in a crisis.

  What would that look like? Well first, the Republicans need to be much more serious in their commentary. Hanson's article is more like the tone that Boehner et al should be taking. They should make clear that we are NOW at the point of no return. They should cite studies of countries that have 100% debt to gdp ratios. The should use OECD data to show how progressive our tax system is already. They should cite the millionaire exoduse from the U.K. in which their higher tax rates have resulted much lower revenues from millionaires, or how the same phenomena is taking place in France.

  They should have a serious conversation with the American people about our unfunded liabilities. If the U.S. was a corporation, the proper reserves required would demand a total of 8 trillion in federal revenue this year. They should start and maintain a conversation on the costs and impact of the welfare state, citing the fact that half of poverty program spending goes to folks who aren't below the poverty line.

  But they don't. They just throw around soundbites and act like kids who are stuck in an "unfair" game, bemoaning Obama but never getting on offense. An example of what I'm thinking would be say a weekly YouTube video series on the absurdities of federal welfare. I wonder how many people know that 1/3 of all federal welfare spending goes to California, and much of that to illegal immigrants.

  I don't think the Republicans are up to the challenge. I don't believe the "new crop" is either. Rubio and Ryan leave me feeling like I'm talking to man-children, sorry, they have no grit. You can tell they've lived their entire lives in politics and govt, and are consummate "insiders" already. Ted Cruz may be a little better but then you also have the challenges of distancing the Republicans from the religious right a bit, as we'll never have more credibility if we keep letting the yahoos who still think Sarah Palin is a great candidate or spokesperson for anything drive this bus.

  None of the above will happen. We'll still be treated to Boehner's sonorous, measured tones. Something much more alarmist is what's called for. I'd love to see him ask, "Mr. President, do you want to run the country insolvent?" Last point, we ain't seen nothin' yet from Obama. His "offer" was his first salvo in a term that promises to offer Progressive programs in droves that will cost a mint. There is no compromise available with someone so disconnected from fiscal and economic reality.

  
  

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    BA1991  glennd1 • an hour ago

    
    

    Well put, Glenn. I, too, am of the exact mindset, and have been saying that about my state, the economic disaster that is RI. I do believe insolvency is the only cure left. Those that live by the government at all levels will soon be learning about the hard facts that Dr. Hanson outlined so well, and that includes the so-called Republican party.

    
    

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  CopperheadCSA • 5 hours ago

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  “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a
  dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been
  200 years.”― Alexis de Tocqueville