The largest Government expansion in history was just passed by the United States Senate. The dollar amount represents nearly half of the existing annual federal budget. Karl Marx would be proud I think.

   In tangible terms, spend one million dollars a day for the next two thousand years and you have the 787 billion dollar expansion package. Mind you, the final copy containing 1100 pages was released to the senators around midnight before the vote. When asked if they had read the material, many deferred to their aids, interns and well… not the elected senators themselves. Though that is truly irresponsible, disrespectful and frivolous, the slap in the face from our elected officials is not what concerns me the most.

   I say our economic decline began with something in the late nineties called WIC. I think George Bush Senior introduced the program actually. The program’s intent was to ensure that women and children received their basic nutritional needs no matter their household income during the crucial first two years of a child’s life This was a good program on its own merits, rather than a dastardly program that I will characterize it here; as the beginning of the end. However, this program was very easy to qualify for and was unique from the social taboo that is usually associated with the term welfare. That is what will begin to change whom the recipients of our modern social programs will be; and who still are.

   Soon to follow was universal healthcare coverage. By the turn of the millennium universal health care is fully implemented in the United States, using a sliding income scale. Children are covered under higher income brackets than adults, but these programs are universally available. The program is offered up by states under different names, but is fully funded through Federal tax dollars. Like the WIC program, it is easy to qualify for and invites a whole new demographic into dependency from government spending. No longer is welfare limited to Appalachia or the ghetto, but now includes young families just getting their start. These are not conspiracies to hook the public into dependency per se, and are good hearted much needed aids, but the effect is in fact that of introducing new dependency classes.

   Take note, during this “worst economic crisis since the great depression” what industries have increased their number of employed individuals. The top two are the healthcare industry and education. These are the top two government-funded entities that are not actually called government. Bill Clinton began getting us used to the idea of creating jobs through this kind of government expansion. If you remember he used to speak of ‘created jobs’ in infrastructure. The clan has been biding their time to implement their ideas entirely, and George Junior did all he could to help. You see, the American public is convinced that the change it needs is to go from capitalist incentives (George W) to growth in government regulations and skillfully injected money. The farce is that the former has never been tried and George W increased the size of government programs as much as any big government proponents have along the way. The opportunity taken by the latest public outcry for change and for the government to heal our wounds is the proverbial nail in the coffin. Capitalism we are no longer.

   To return from the addition of yet another major industry that will be primarily funded through our shared tax investment, will be a tough road. I’m afraid its water under the crumbling bridges and highways that will keep thousands of construction workers busy over the next decade or so. The next group of people to realize that they can now vote themselves money will be alive and well and expecting to gain from the next time things take a turn for the worst.

   Do we not think that during a crisis the American people will help his or her neighbor’s relatives and friends through a tough time? No, as a whole we do not. Else we would no more expect the government to fix our problems, as we would call a lawyer to help with our emotional problems. I fear there is no turning back from the size and scope of this expansion. I think we’re living on borrowed time and money.

   If we were to do the right thing in the next decade and allow the market to correct itself, for one it would be the worst example of political suicide in history. Secondly the travesty would be far more severe and deep compared to repenting at our last possible crossroad, last week. We are already suffering from a tax system full of the major taboos we started our system of representative democracy. We have been taxed without being represented for long enough that we are now seeing the results of a collapsing free market system.

   How is it that the majority of Americans believe that the root of our problem will be the savior of our collapsing economy. I think whomever made the statement I began this with was correct. Who will step in to govern this new system? I think we will not suffer long to know.