It all began with FDR and his New Deal. We got Social Security, the cost of which is going to spiral out of control as more and more baby boomers retire. Then came Medicare, Medicaid, the war on poverty, unemployment insurance, food stamps and the list goes on.
Under President Bush’s watch Medicare was expanded to include prescription drug cover (in all fairness, as noted by Fred Barnes, the Democrats would have done the same thing, only a more costly version.) Today Barack Obama is promising additional stimulus spending in the billions or even trillions.
The TARP loans made to financial institutions can almost be defended because in theory the funds will be returned to the Treasury with interest. But what about the other programs the government has in mind?
They want to “give” us national health care and create somewhere along the lines of half a million new government jobs. Where on earth do they think this money’s going to come from? This is instant gratification at it’s worst. The public is instantly gratified with the new giveaways (but that won’t last when they find out what they’re actually getting.) The politicians are instantly gratified with high approval ratings.
What happens next? The politicians have to promise even more government programs and giveaways, and the beat goes on. The only problem is, sooner or later we’re going to have to pay the piper. That’s when Obama’s “shared sacrifice” will really kick in.
