A candid word from liberal Mickey Kaus about a major effect of the Pelosi-Reid-Obama Generational Theft Act:But the reference to liberalism isn't irrelevant, because the now-undermined welfare reform was the key to rebuilding confidence in (liberal) affirmative government. As Bill Clinton recognized, voters may well have been willing to let government spend, but they didn't trust old style liberals not to spend in actively destructive ways, like subsidizing an isolated underclass of non-working single mothers with a no-strings cash dole. It's a 75-25 values issue. Work yes. Welfare no. Even if welfare spending was only a tiny portion of the liberals' spending agenda, it poisoned the rest of it. Only when Clinton's New Democrats put an … [Read more...]
Hillman: The Bitter Medicine We Need
Mark Hillman - the rare person in political life (okay, not at the moment) whom I truly admire - writes in the clearest terms about the dose of bitter medicine America needs:The federal debt is more than $5 trillion — $48,359 per household. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We owe another $5 trillion to federal employees and veterans for health care and retirement benefits. However, the cost of retirement and health care programs for the general public really shafts our children and grandchildren. The unfunded cost of providing Social Security and Medicare benefits to everyone alive today is more than $45 trillion. That’s not the total cost; it’s the cost that cannot be covered by existing revenues. The board of trustees … [Read more...]