The saddest part was the name calling. Extortionist, hostage takers, and even terrorists. Apparently this disturbs me more than most people. I generally assume that people who stoop to name calling don’t have a very good argument. But in this case everyone says the Ds won and the Rs will pay a heavy price. But I wonder. In the next few years the younger folk are going to figure out how badly they are being served by our particular version of the welfare state which is very biased toward the old folks who are immediate spenders and biased against the young and investment. (Its advocates are not biased against the word “investment”. They love the word. They will call a hip replacement on an 80 year old man an investment.)
When the young figure this out, it is possible that they will become interested in a more fiscally responsible government. At that point they may remember who was on which side of the fiscal responsibility ledger.
In the previous episode of raising the debt ceiling there was serious discussion of fiscal responsibility efforts and concerns. In the current (most recent) episode there was a paucity of discussion concerning reduction of spending, entitlement reform, or other responsible measures.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wayne on the name calling. It was out of control and frankly embarrassing, except that it worked and seemingly it worked very well. The media failed us hear as well. Other than on FOX I heard no criticism of the name calling and accusations made by the Ds.
The Rs did not have a winning strategy and I think they have lost big, perhaps even irreparably.
The young may, as suggested, realize that they are supporting the old and decide they are not well served. Still the same government that is asking them to subsidize the old is advocating free college (or at least heavy federal support), forgiving of student loans, lower tuition, etc. so I doubt they will bite that hand.
The Rs (and I am not talking about the Tea Party) seem to have gone to a dark place. I have serious doubts that they will survive as a major political influence.