In his usual smug fashion, “Representative” Cantor (R-VA) claims that “Younger Americans will have to adjust.” Here’s my response: Not while I’m around, pal! What Cantor and his gang of Wild West style political followers truly want is a Milton Friedman-like economic paradise where the preexisting wealthy can corner the America market on political power, wealth and opportunity.
The U.S. remains the most technologically dynamic, innovative, and prosperous country in the history of human civilization. So why is there such a dire need to tear down the social safety net for everyone but the wealthy and politically connected? I’ve already given the answer, but what is also just as important is the way that this Friedmanite paradise is being set into action.
The arguments have been framed as government overreach, reckless spending, self-conscious bloated government bureaucracies, and many others. But it is many of the same individuals who perpetuated these alleged circumstances that now claim to be totally opposed to them.
In politics, the tides do change, and with them, political stances. But this time feels different. In my lifetime, never has such a frontal assault been conducted on many of the most important public programs that this country has ever known. While some may chalk this up to the workings of wealthy individuals like the Koch brothers, the causes go far beyond them.
But the causes may not be as important as the agenda that is being carried out in the U.S. today by the Tea Party politicians and their sheep-eyed supporters. Level all public programs except for defense. Ensure all middle and lower class Americans are thrust from their social safety nets onto the cold streets of Milton Friedman’s America. That is their agenda. That is their vision. It should be our complete nightmare and one that we are willing to stand up against.
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