The invaluable John Stossel has an entertaining and informative video that estimates how many handouts are being promised by Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and Elizabeth Warren.
Wow, how depressing.
When I wrote about about the “dangerous seduction of free” a month ago, I apparently underestimated the problem. We have politicians completely divorced from fiscal reality (the “Green New Deal” being a frightening example).
But the key question is whether the American people are actually getting seduced.
It’s not looking good on the Democratic side. Joe Biden is presumably part of the Democratic Party’s anti-socialist wing, which is encouraging. But all the other leading candidates are hard-core big spenders.
And it’s not looking good on the Republican side, either. Trump may not have crazy proposals for new spending, but in practice he’s been profligate. Indeed, I’m guessing he will wind up with a worse record on spending than Obama.
The bottom line is that the public sector already is too large in the United States. Yet we have politicians who want it to become an even bigger burden. In some cases, much bigger.
That has very serious economic consequences. Especially if it coincides with an erosion of societal capital.
For instance, I think some European countries have already reached a “tipping point” because of a dependency mindset.
Historically, the United States has been insulated from that problem because of a belief in personal responsibility. But ever-growing levels of dependency suggest that this advantage is dissipating.
I’ll close with a final observation about the candidates – Sanders, Warren, and Harris – who were identified in the video as advocating trillions of dollars of new spending.
How do they plan to finance this orgy?
- Sanders has a plethora of new taxes, including class-warfare tax increase and middle-class tax increases, so he definitely wants to put our money where his mouth is. In terms of fiscal policy, think of him as Sweden.
- Warren supports a bunch of new taxes, mostly on the rich, most notably a huge wealth tax, which surely would backfire but theoretically is a big source of money. In terms of fiscal policy, think of her as France.
- Harris has some class-warfare tax hikes but is mostly promising a free lunch since there’s a huge mismatch between what she wants to spend and the new taxes she has embraced. In terms of fiscal policy, think of her as Greece.
For what it’s worth, I’m waiting for the Hong Kong candidate.
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[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] Harris becomes president – The Vice President-Elect staked out policies far to the left of Biden when she ran for president. And she has a reprehensible track record of […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] rather troubling since her agenda was far to the left of Biden’s when they were competing for the Democratic […]
[…] addition to being a contest over expanding the burden of government spending, the Democratic primary also is a contest to see who wants the […]
[…] her reckless profligacy and knee-jerk statism, that would be a terrifying remake on an Indiana Jones […]
[…] worse news is that the additional spending desired by Democrats is much greater than Biden’s proposed tax increases, which means there will be significant […]
[…] worse news is that the additional spending desired by Democrats is much greater than Biden’s proposed tax increases, which means there will be significant […]
[…] Sanders doubtlessly will be very happy with this victory, especially since he trailed Kamala Harris when Stossel did the same calculations last […]
[…] One of the most significant developments in 2020 politics is how Democratic presidential candidates have embraced hard-left economic policies. […]
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[…] addition to being a contest over expanding the burden of government spending, the Democratic primary also is a contest to see who wants the […]
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It’s not like it’s real money. It’s only tax dollars. 🙂
“For what it’s worth, I’m waiting for the Hong Kong candidate.”
Women will NEVER vote for no Hong Kong candidates. If you want any of this “liberty” of which you speak, you’ve got to take women’s privilege of voting away. It may sound harsh, but I bet dollars to donuts that you know it’s true and that you already know there is absolutely no possibility of an alternative.
Whenever I read of the spoliation encouraged by ‘democratic’ politics, I cannot help but think of Bastiat’s trenchant observation from The Law. We sadly know which way the vast majority of people vote.