The problem of course is that there will be plenty of whining, nonstop, for approximately the next forever. People are like that. And increasing the size of Washington by 50-100% over the next year or two is just going to create more whining.
First, it’s simple economics that when you subsidize something, you get more of it. For example, the car buying public hardly wants any General Motors and almost no Chrysler at all. And yet Washington gives them billions of dollars to stick around producing cars. The result? There are 161 days worth of GM cars sitting unsold on dealer lots (and crammed in all over the place elsewhere), and 151 days worth of the all new Chrysler Crapola.
And if you’d like to hear whining, wait until GM and Chrysler have to go back to Washington for a fourth round of bailout bucks. They make hungry baby birds, greedy mouths open and squeaking in the nest, seem like the very definition of decorum. But don’t complain — you’re just getting what you paid for, whether you wanted to or not. Washington is subsidizing all kind of whining now, so the din will only get worse.
Second, folks like me will be whining just like… well, just like we have been for months now. “Don’t spend this! Don’t spend that! Get your hand out of my pants, Senator!” Things like that. And we won’t stop until Washington stops, which will happen right around the same time that the entire CPAC conference could fit into a small and particularly seedy strip club — and is held in one, too.
There’s a third item, but it’s so unlikely that it’s hardly worth mentioning. I’ll tell you anyway. If you think the whining is bad now, imagine that banshee wailing it will turn into if Washington ever tries to reduce even by one thin dime all of this new “emergency temporary just until the momentary crisis is over” spending.
That’s right — that four trillion Washington budget for next year isn’t just some little budgetary response to a passing crisis. It’s the new baseline, the new reverse-limbo bar that can never go any lower. Only up, up, up.
If you need me, I’ll be at the bar, whining into my drink.
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