Our Democratic friends are having a real festival of free stuff these days, offering the voters Medicare For All, free college for all, minimum wage, reparations, you name it.
Of course that is all in accordance with the principle enunciated in my aphorism:
If you want a more philosophical take, there is the doctrine of Irving Kristol that if you want to help the poor, as with Social Security, you must deal in the middle class. That is why Social Security is called the "third rail" of US politics.
As I said, back in 1993, the problem with HillaryCare was that the middle class already had health insurance, so there was no way they could be included in the loot handed out to the folks that were suspended between Medicaid and employer-paid health insurance.
Then, with Obamacare, the Obama guys had to flat out lie, and tell us that we would save $2,500 and if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. All lies.
Now, the question is: Does the free-stuff program still work? Put it this way. Is there still something that government can give away for free for which the majority of people will think they are getting free stuff?
OK. Look at this chart of government spending in the US since 1900, expressed as percent of GDP. Do you see what I see?
Apart from the spending surge in response to the Crash of 2008 government spending in the US has been rocking along at about 35 percent of GDP since the early 1980s.
I wonder what that means. I wonder if it means that the majority of voters do not want any more government spending because they suspect that any increase in government spending is free stuff that will go to other people, and not to them.
Anyway, it seems to me that in 2020 we are going to get a test of my notion. The Democrats are out in full force offering free stuff to their primary voters. But will they be able to sell the general election voters on their free stuff?
Will general election voters think they will benefit from Medicare For All?
Will general election voters think they will benefit from free college, and college debt forgiveness?
Will general election voters think they will benefit from the Green New Deal?
Will general election voters think they will benefit from reparations to the descendants of slaves?
And so on.
My guess is that the average voter will think that all these ideas are going to cost them.
I wonder if I am right.
Of course that is all in accordance with the principle enunciated in my aphorism:
Government is an armed minority, occupying territory and taxing the inhabitants thereof to reward its supporters.Doesn't matter what the government is, as you can see from the following table:
| Robber gang | Your money or your life |
| City gang | Nice little business you got here. Pity if something should happen to it. |
| Lefty guerillas | Kill the capitalists! |
| Center left | Make the rich pay their share. |
| Center right | Cut taxes now. |
| Trump | Mexicans pay for the wall. |
If you want a more philosophical take, there is the doctrine of Irving Kristol that if you want to help the poor, as with Social Security, you must deal in the middle class. That is why Social Security is called the "third rail" of US politics.
As I said, back in 1993, the problem with HillaryCare was that the middle class already had health insurance, so there was no way they could be included in the loot handed out to the folks that were suspended between Medicaid and employer-paid health insurance.
Then, with Obamacare, the Obama guys had to flat out lie, and tell us that we would save $2,500 and if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. All lies.
Now, the question is: Does the free-stuff program still work? Put it this way. Is there still something that government can give away for free for which the majority of people will think they are getting free stuff?
OK. Look at this chart of government spending in the US since 1900, expressed as percent of GDP. Do you see what I see?
Apart from the spending surge in response to the Crash of 2008 government spending in the US has been rocking along at about 35 percent of GDP since the early 1980s.
I wonder what that means. I wonder if it means that the majority of voters do not want any more government spending because they suspect that any increase in government spending is free stuff that will go to other people, and not to them.
Anyway, it seems to me that in 2020 we are going to get a test of my notion. The Democrats are out in full force offering free stuff to their primary voters. But will they be able to sell the general election voters on their free stuff?
Will general election voters think they will benefit from Medicare For All?
Will general election voters think they will benefit from free college, and college debt forgiveness?
Will general election voters think they will benefit from the Green New Deal?
Will general election voters think they will benefit from reparations to the descendants of slaves?
And so on.
My guess is that the average voter will think that all these ideas are going to cost them.
I wonder if I am right.
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