While the president blathers on about fair shares, corporate jets, and those darn Republicans — and provoked this astonishing, unforced gaffe by Morning Joe’s Mark Halperin, for which Halperin and the rest of the crew spent much of this morning apologizing — the shape of things to come can be seen over in Greece, which is the subject of my New York Post column today:
Listen carefully to those screams of outrage and sounds of shattering glass you hear wafting from the streets of Athens as rioters “protest” the end of an internationally funded gravy train: This is what happens when an irresponsible government and a lazy, entitled public finally run out of other people’s money.
Welcome to the beginning of the end of the welfare state.
Talk about unsustainable: I spent the better part of the nineties working in western and central Europe while based in Germany, and the crash-course trajectory of the European social-welfare model was evident even then — and this was in a country that actually worked. But hey — it’s easy to have a social-welfare state dedicated to la dolce vita when Uncle Sam is providing the troops and the nuclear umbrella. Millions for Cinzano, but not one cent for defense!
Why the anger? For one thing, Europeans lack the American tradition of self-reliance. They expect somebody — the king, the chancellor, the Eurocrat — to protect them from life’s vicissitudes.
For another, the disconnect between productive labor and earned reward has never been so great. Punching a clock is what counts, not tangible results.
Third, the private sector has long been subjected to punishing employment regulations that have made hiring workers too costly, so that basic Western European unemployment rates have long been more than 8 percent (yes — the same rate that Americans are now being told to get used to). And forget about self-starting: In Europe, the self-employed entrepreneur is looked upon as a dangerous radical and social misfit.
A zero-sum mentality regarding capital and labor has brought Europe to its present pass — and Americans should be worried. Because what’s happening in the cradle of democracy could be coming here.
The culture of entitlement will not go quietly or easily, but go it must — and go it will, one way or the other.
I agree completely with your article Michael, and it doesn't take any great leap of imagination or rationale to understand we are seeing a foreshadowing of events to come in the U.S. in the near future.
Already the SEIU has sounded the clarion call to arms - they will keep their entitlements thank you, regardless of whether our country fails because of them.
I'd watch for the first riots to be union-driven ones.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBe careful about conflating what's happening with Greece, Spain, and Portugal with the north European style welfare state. Germany, Sweden, and Iceland are also fairly progressive when it comes to the welfare state model, and yet they're fiscally healthy. Sweden and Iceland actually acted more like capitalists in the aftermath of their financial crises than we did; they put their banks in receivership, canceled banker bonuses, and made the shareholders eat the losses instead of the taxpayers. Wish we could be that capitalist!
The bottom line is that Greece and Portugal and Spain take a latin approach to work in general and taxing and spending in particular. This is why they're having trouble. They're light on taxing and heavy on the spending. The Scandinavians and Germans make nanny stateism work, because there is accountability baked into it. People pay for what they get. They actually pay their taxes! And when banks go south, the bankers there pay for it.
As far as defense spending goes, who's entitled to what? Why should I pay 40 cents on the dollar for a military that can't beat a bunch of tribal illiterates after 10 years of muddling through? The most disgustingly big armed force in the world did nothing to prevent 9/11. Worshipping the military is unAmerican. Our founders knew this and Eisenhower warned us about an entitled defense complex. I think the Europeans got wise after two world wars. When you bend over for the military, bad things happen. Better to neuter them. Luckily for us we have good constitutional controls in place and our military knows who the boss is.
The military isn't entitled to squat. I agree with you on that point - our entitlement culture is about to end sure enough, and our previously entitled military will be one of the first to swallow a tough pill.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJust a few points:
The military consumes 13 cents and not 40 cents on the dollar of the federal budget. In a few years Medicaid will consume more dollars than defence.
Defence spending may be a waste. But it's all a matter of perspective. If you're a businessman trapped in Nigeria, a Marine FMF can sure come in handy. Or if you're a tanker skipper about to be attacked by Somali pirates, a Navy destroyer is very very welcome. And it is very nice to have a Navy carrier taks force near the Straits of Malacca. Other than that I can see your point. Lesson here is do not venture nor do business abroad. That's the Brave New World.
And you should be made aware that even those efficient nordic societies have a serious problem with unfunder liabilities. Both Germany and Sweden mantain an entitlement state that cannot even come close to being maintained by a much small demogrpahic group that is replacing thier Baby Boom generation. Germany for instance has raised its own retirement age to 67 (from 60 a decade ago), and will do so again soon. It's all a matter of numbers.
And one last thing concerning the armed forces and the Middle East. It was the civilian leadership that put them there, not the JCS. As it turns out, the military probably shouldn't have been used to win the "hearts and minds". But the call wasn't theirs.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePoints taken, and I stand corrected on the percentage of budget issue.
And I agree that those use cases on military action/intervention to protect overseas commercial interests make a lot of sense. I'd just rather have more Rangers, Force Recon, SEAL's, JSOC types (and the Navy, and drones) than a huge number of brigade combat teams that have a bunch of personnel.
I'd rather have a smaller, better military than today's current jobs program. We need to truly recruit the best of the best and pay more for less.
On the US "welfare state" front I acknowledge that unions aren't helping, and I'm opposed to the public sector variety. But the problem is manageable. CT, NJ, WI, and NY are coping, despite political shenanigans here and there. Democrats in Atlanta are adjusting pensions as we speak. And I have faith that even CA will eventually get its act together.
I really do think southern Europe is in a different basket from the Germans and Scandinavians though. And a lot of this is cultural. When the northerners get in a jam down the road (I concede the point too that their model isn't long-term sustainable) I trust they'll pull together and makes things work out, like they did with their banking crises. And over the long run I think we'll be able to do the same just as Dems and Repubs are doing in CT, NJ, NY, and Atlanta on a local level. Culturally, I think we have more in common with Sweden than Greece. People sounding the Hayekian "SOCIALIST!" alarms are chicken littles. He was good for his time, but now even some of the socialists are good capitalists.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Because what’s happening in the cradle of democracy could be coming here."
Could be coming here???? I'm afraid it already is here. What a wonderful legacy 100+ years of 'progressivism' (i.e., America's top-down, bureaucratic/technocratic elitist version of Western European Statism) has wrought.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWell said Mr. Walsh.
I had to work in Europa long ago as well, about the same time, and once in the decade prior. Agreed, it was obvious it was doomed. Some seem to miss we have already experienced similar ugly displays, such as the UNION driven protests in Madison, Wisconsin. Madtown's Capital resembled Greece's folly for awhile, as a responsible Republican Governor tried to deal with the horrific DEBT.
The vivid problem I can never forget, which someone like Obama probably never considered, is the collectivist - socialist environment raises the cost of living for all tremendously. The least fortunate are hurt the most, especially by the loss of competition. The lack of opportunity produced by overt taxation-regulation cements economic classes, crushes basic freedoms, kills essential incentive, etc., and always produces an underground market. How do these so called liberals fear a Monopoly in the Private Sector, but eagerly push to create a Monopoly over all in Government? It is a sign of insanity.
But those I speak with, friends made over the years, some from the former Soviet Block, know many who romanticize about the "bread line" path. It is incredible, as the fear of the challenge of a healthier free existence, bows in the face of the dream of a "safe dependency". There are many who think being provided by the State is more attractive, still missing the reality it was always going to go bust (and is an enormous waste of their own investment - offering poor services/products on top of it). The folly could never support the failure, but they seem dependent in mindset, even decades later.
It is clear Obama has no clue either. A vulgar, cheap, desperate Partisan who will bring us all down for his own vanity and greed. He actually chimed about Congress creating jobs with more 'shovel ready' nonsense. He is truly a symbol of the disastrous Democratic Party - a know nothing without any real World experience coming from a politically correct Educational wasteland. He pulled a "Weiner" yesterday, basically saying he was "hacked" by everyone else. A pure Pelosi grandstand, a Carter Malaise moment, signifying utter defeat and ignorance.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHe's not EVEN fiddling. That would interfere with his golf schedule.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI read that the corporate jet savings was because of getting rid of accelerated depreciation. Doesn't that just result in the timing of the expense of depreciation and therefore just the timing of the ultimate tax payment from a particular corporation, not an actual change in the amount of the ultimate tax payment?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseGood point, accelerated depreciation will result in more taxes this year and the next couple, but fewer taxes in later years. The 10 year result of such a change is pretty close to zero.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI experienced first hand the suspicion of anyone who is self-employed. I have a little golf shop in southern Portugal. When I had a stroke, the first review of my sick pay from Social in-Security was all cool, the doc right away said I couldn't work, and the bureaucrat went along.
The second review with a different doc and bureaucrat was different. They had me down as a golf pro, not a shop proprietor. As soon as I let slip that I had a shop, the bureaucrat informed me of the dire consequences if I were to be caught in the shop or away from home at all during the day. So I "agreed" to cancel the sick pay.
Y'all have fun when this act comes to your town.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI would love to know how much money the government spends by actually paying people to be citizens. IOW, how many people file a tax return, and after it's all calculated receive more back from the government than they actually paid in withholding taxes?
Would there even be a way to calculate that? And, if there is, has anyone ever seen those figures published anywhere.
It seems to me that we can't begin to have a serious conversation about debt and deficit until everyone has some skin in the game. I think if you're a able-bodied citizen of this country, you should kick in at least a dollar each year. Is that too much too ask?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFrom a progessive(?) Democrat like Halperin, that was a big time slip-up, or maybe just a wake-up call to Obama.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt seems the inexperienced Obama is out of ideas, and is really clueless about how the economy works. His bozo brigade of economist have mostly bailed leaving him to play the one card he dealt himself. He must make the "intellectual" elite so proud.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt will definitely be coming to an end. Those states (and they all happen to be blue) that take in more from the government than they put in will have to pay up. Minorities and liberals are ruining this once great nation.
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