I recently wrote about Grover Norquist and the blame he has taken in the media for the failure of the “SuperCommittee.” Interestingly-enough, 60 Minutes, which has done some really good stories recently, did a story on Grover and the “anti-tax” pledge:
Simply put, avoiding tax hikes is not a “silver bullet” for smaller government, but it is a starting point for holding politicians accountable. The battle for the next decade is to hold the line on taxes while getting spending under control and making “entitlement” programs financially-sustainable.
“Simply put, avoiding tax hikes is not a ‘silver bullet’ for smaller government….” That is right.
Spending is the fundamental problem and almost no one really wants to restrain spending.
I fear we may be experiencing the end of democracy. There simply isn’t enough money to buy off all the voting constituencies. Those include unions, farmers, teachers, defense workers, environmentalists, retired people, poor people, exporters, — the list is endless.
There is one chance. Enough of the public must change its philosophy. We do not owe anyone a living (or health care). We are not our brother’s keeper. Altruism is a false view of ethics. For more, read Ayn Rand on ethics.
http://www.amazon.com/Virtue-Selfishness-Signet-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451163931
Grover admits that creating a constituency for spending cuts is a difficult challenge. He focuses on taxes because that issue is somewhat easier. Unfortunately, the only real check on federal borrowing (and thus spending) is international lenders.
Philosophically, I agree with you 100%. Politically, I think Grover is (unfortunately) right.