"Confidence in the U.S. system of government has dropped to a new low in more than 35 years, with public attitudes burdened by continued economic discontent, soaring gasoline prices, record opposition to the war in Afghanistan -- and a letdown in hopes for political progress after a bout of bipartisanship last fall."
Gee whiz, no surprise in the results this ABC poll. Politicians have been promising more than they can deliver for dozens of years as they pander to the citizenry for votes and power. Now, the economy has lost faith in the government's ability to 'fix' anything. Unrealistic expectations of what government can and should do have overtaken personal independence, accountability and reduced market vibrancy. We have allowed a culture of dependency to saturate our thinking.
This results in extreme political demagogues, such as Vermont's own Bernie Sanders, calling for massive redistribution of wealth, a task that government, if allowed to do so, is very good at. Folks of common sense see Government more as the problem rather than the solution. Now we are at the day of reckoning and very difficult time lies ahead.
1 comment:
Hi, - so let me ask you this: I heard sanders interviewed on NPR yesterday and he called for an increase of 5% in the tax rates on people earning over $1million per year. In light of the fact that the top wage earners have so much (e.g. the top 400 wealthiest Americans net worth equals the net worth of the bottom 150 million Americans) why is that not a modest and reasonable thing to do? (as I understand it when the us deficit was much lower than it is today, the tax rates were higher - the ideological view that low tax rates automatically translate into prosperity seems dubious?). Too much government is a bad thing, but isn't too little as well?
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