Will Demographics Doom the Dems’ Demagoguery on Entitlements?
8th April 2013
It is an intentional feature of the ever expanding non-means tested unfunded entitlements regime that people believe that they have “earned” their entitlements and are “owed” them lock, stock and barrel. It locks the regime in politically because people won’t cravenly agitate for free stuff (though they won’t look a gift horse in the mouth either), but they will defend to the bitter end what they think is theirs by right. Our entitlement state problem arises from the widespread belief that they have “earned” their entitlements, most obviously by having paid payroll taxes.
Obama is trapped…the Dems can’t be for tax reform, they can’t be for entitlement reform, and they can’t tax the middle class without destroying the left/New Class ruling coalition. There aren’t enough “rich” to tax sufficiently…AND there will soon be a borrowing constraint. The people have been systematically lied to for over 70 years–lies they have wanted to hear, though. If they ever figure out that it is THEY who have to pay for the welfare state and that–systematically–younger cohorts will pay a lot more and get a lot less, there will be hell to pay.