This medicine is very hard for Americans to swallow, but the truth is, we can’t have it both ways. We want an arms-length relationship with the government in good times. In bad times, the cries go out to “do something,” even if it’s pay us to do nothing. We want a free-market economy during expansions, a nanny state in periods of recession. Privatized profits during the boom, socialized losses during the bust.
–Caroline Baum, in a Bloomberg News piece this week
Very astute observation!
I am convinced this country’s rallying now is, “No taxation with representation!”
We like wars, but we don’t really want to pay for them. We like to make money, but don’t want to pay for the public infrastructure that makes commerce possible. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but we want everything for free. The religion of Tax Cuts gave us the idea we could have a sophisticated economy without having to spend.