The American Welfare State

I have blogged and otherwise written recently about the US becoming a social welfare state similar to England and France in the 1950s and 1960s. The lessons of history from that period in Europe are apparently going unheeded. In England today there is a strong push for a revival of its welfare state. See the following link

http://www.cepr.org/PUBS/Bulletin/meets/465.htm

Today, America is headed in the same direction. The US is rapidly on its way to becoming a social welfare state. When a large portion of the citizens start speaking of "welfare rights," "right to health care." "inequality of distribution of income" and "community service duties" then the mindset is present to set a nation that stands for individual rights on the path to tribal collectivism. The lessons of history are being completely ignored, even history as recent as the 1950s and 1960s. The words of the Nations founders are being ignored. The history of American innovation and progress in technology, of the arts and sciences and progress in human standards of living are being ignored.

A human being has four basic human rights: life, liberty, the pursuit of one's own destiny (happiness) and to die. There are other human rights associated with the right to liberty. In a welfare state your life and labor are controlled by the state for its benefit, your liberty is curtailed to choices consistent with the common good, the pursuit of your chosen destiny is limited by the state and since your labor contribution is needed by the collective you do not have the right to die until the state says so; generally, when you consume more than you produce.

Today, the United States is over five trillion dollars in debt. As of this date 25% of that debt is financed by foreign nations. Japan tops the list (with $644 billion), followed by China ($350 billion), United Kingdom ($239 billion) and oil exporting countries ($100 billion). That totals one and a third trillion dollars. This is the soft underbelly of the US. Its Achilles heel. The US now proposes to spend an additional one trillion dollars above its multi-trillion dollar budget that it does not have and cannot internally finance. It already has a huge Social Security burden and a Medicare burden that in a few years will sink the boat. The US is engaged in two very costly wars. How long do those in power think this can continue? They respond that the productive ability of American will recoup these temporary debts. Really! How? When? Do they really believe that the productive ability of America is infinite? The population over sixty-five is increasing and the productive age population supporting all of this debt and obligations is declining. It appears to me that America's productive ability is being outsourced to other nations or otherwise diminishing. This is not the American that weathered the depression of the thirties, a world war, built the American Dream and put men on the moon.

Our children and grandchildren are being slowly pushed into welfare state serfdom by the failure of those in power to fully comprehend the path upon which they have put the US. A welfare state, like Icarus, soars high with lofty ideas about the Utopia to come and like our Greek friend there seems to be no comprehension of the power of the natural consequences (Sun) of welfare state status. Once established there is only one path a welfare state can take: 1)continued slow decline in productivity with eventual shortages of goods and services; 2) decline in international political and diplomatic power; 3) high debt and eventual disrespect for and/or devaluation of its currency; 4) financial collapse; and 5) eventual bankruptcy. It can, at any time, reverse its course and try to cease being a welfare state, but that is very difficult. England during the Thacher years almost accomplished the reversal. France is trying to do so today. This is the path the previous and the current congresses and administrations have chosen for our children and grandchildren. Those of us who know better than to take this path are tacitly consenting to the process.

My father grew to adulthood during the Great Depression and, as a young man, had his life interrupted to fight in World War Two. He had more “life sayings” than a doctor has tongue depressors. Two of those he told me when I was very young and repeated them often were “nothing in life is free.” and “there is no free lunch.” He called this natural human law. To put it in Newtonian language for you Ubergeeks, for every payee there is and equal an opposite payor. These sayings are as true as any of the natural laws. Humans cannot escape them.

My late father-in-law, who held degrees from Harvard and MIT, including a doctorate in physical chemistry, and who wrote the still current definitive college text book on Cost Optimization Engineering, often lamented about what was happening to American productivity. His most often stated example was about all of the auto workers that used to work for Detroit auto makers who were now working for the government counting the imported cars from elsewhere. He was concerned about the overburden of benefits and extra costs the American workers carried, which alone prevented them from being the most productive workers in the world. That trend continues today. Of all of the job layoffs you have read or heard about recently how many of them were US government employees? None.

The citizens have found the keys to the treasury and there is no stopping what is to follow. My children and grandchildren, and your children and grandchildren, have my deepest sympathies for where they are headed and what they will endure. They are on the event horizon of a black hole. They also have my apologies for not doing more to try and prevent them from being sold into serfdom. Dad and his generation would have known what to do and done it. Alas, I knew but did nothing.