Bread and Circuses’ is the cancer of democracy, the fatal disease for which there is no cure. Democracy often works beautifully at first. But once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader—the barbarians enter Rome.” – Robert Heinlein
Congratulations, Obama voters.
So it is done. My prediction was way off. That is what I get for overestimating Americans and their desire for free stuff and an all powerful government that can meet all of their wants. So congratulations. This time we can’t blame it on Obama being an empty slate to be filled with all your hopes and dreams. You treated a job interview like a popularity contest. This time you know exactly what you are asking for, and I’m sure you’ll get it.
Sure, we’re broke, and will be getting broker, but that’s cool. You said that our kids and grandkids can figure out how to pay our bill. You kicked the can down the road. You decided if we just tax the productive a bunch more, everything will be swell. Math be damned. Less people will pull the cart and more people can ride in it, and you can continue to bitch about the greed of the people pulling and somehow assume that the cart will just keep on rolling. We don’t need budgets, and all of these social programs you are so fond of will somehow stay solvent.
Even as you can watch Europe with your own eyes, and see where this sort of benevolent socialism will eventually lead us, you go happily onward into a debt crisis. Only there is nobody to bail us out, so I’m sure that will work out awesome.
You said you wanted your government controlled healthcare, so it will stay. Sure, now that we’ve seen what is actually in it, and everybody that has to work with the thing agrees that it is an absolute job killer, it is costing us a lot more than expected, and doesn’t do much of what was advertised, but facts don’t matter, just good intentions. Working 30 hours a week instead of 40 will become the new normal.
The media will continue to not do its job, and will keep on ignoring all the scandals and law breaking from the democrats. Fast and Furious? What Fast & Furious? NBC gave it all of 8 seconds of coverage. Benghazi? Nothing to see there. Move along. Anybody who does report about stuff which falls outside of your approved narrative can safely be dismissed as a crank.
For all the ultra lefties, Obama will continue to do all of the stuff you bitched about George Bush doing, drone strikes, imprisoning people without trial, only far more. But somehow it is okay when he does it. You just said so. For you guys, just remember, at least if there was a republican in office, the media would actually report this sort of thing. So have fun with that.
Overall, the red states got redder, and the blue states got bluer, and big urban areas won the swing states. We’re living in a country with irreconcilable differences and two competing philosophies that literally have no middle ground. One side wants a smaller government and wants to be left alone, the other side wants a bigger government that can do everything. Compromise inevitably means we’ll make government bigger, just not as big as the left wants. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. And the red states keep getting redder and angrier, and the blue states keep getting bluer and angrier, and America as a whole gets poorer and weaker.
So to close, congratulations, Obama voters. I’m sure this will work out great for you. When we revisit this in a few years and everything is limping along, broken, tired, poorer, and somehow less than we could be, I’m sure it will still be someone else’s fault, and you’ll vote again for whoever promises to pay for your good time.