The Ruling Class is Now Happier than Ever

I just finished reading America’s Ruling Class – And the Perils of Revolution in The American Spectator. It’s long (I printed it out and it’s 23 pages, single-spaced) but definitely worth a read. Long before most of us were born, a ruling class emerged in America, and over time it has grown into the leviathan we have today. Although the face of the current ruling class is the Democrat Party, plenty of Republicans belong to the ruling class, and don’t want to lose their status in that class. (For recent examples see here and here.)

The ruling class doesn’t produce a thing. They just take from those who do produce and enrich themselves and those they deem worthy of enrichment. They decide who gets what. They believe they know better than you how to run your life. They want you to be dependent on them, thereby voting for them so they can further enrich themselves and their cronies. So far it’s working out pretty well for them. Just look at the latest Politico poll.

America is struggling with a sputtering economy and high unemployment — but times are booming for Washington’s governing class.

The massive expansion of government under President Barack Obama has basically guaranteed a robust job market for policy professionals, regulators and contractors for years to come. The housing market, boosted by the large number of high-income earners in the area, many working in politics and government, is easily outpacing the markets in most of the country. And there are few signs of economic distress in hotels, restaurants or stores in the D.C. metro area.

As a result, there is a yawning gap between the American people and D.C.’s powerful when it comes to their economic reality — and their economic perceptions.

A new POLITICO poll, conducted by market research and consulting firm Penn Schoen Berland, underscores the big divide: Roughly 45 percent of “Washington elites” said the country and the economy are headed in the right direction, while roughly 25 percent of the general population said they felt that way.

(Side note: If you follow the link directly above to the actual poll, note that it’s skewed toward Democrats, so the feeling of voters about the Democrats in the ruling class is even worse than the poll reflects. H/T Ed Morrissey)

If you read the entire American Spectator piece linked at the top of this post, you’ll realize that restoring constitutional, representative, limited government is going to be a tough slog. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. We need to elect true conservatives who will dismantle leviathin bit by bit, and bring governance back to the local level. If we don’t, I can’t say exactly what might happen, but whatever it is, it’s not going to be pretty.

Tags: america, cronies, Democrats, enrichment, governance, happy, local, obama, poll, republicans, Ruling Class