This Op Ed piece from the New York Times last November, Right vs. Left in the Midwest, "contrasts" Conservatism and Progressivism by showing the successes of (my native) Minnesota's current "Modern Progressive" governor and Democratic Legislature against the "failures" Wisconsin's more conservative Republican governor and legislators.
NYT, I'd say, is already an overtly liberal, left - leaning publication, so, of course, this particular writer favors the Liberal side of things freely gets a predominate spot. (Lawrence R. Jacobs is a professor of political science at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and the author, with Theda Skocpol, of “Health Care Reform and American Politics.”).
Professor Jacobs poses the question, "Which side of the experiment — the new right or modern progressivism — has been most effective in increasing jobs and improving business opportunities, not to mention living conditions?"
Professor Jacobs, in this Op Ed, essentially paints a picture of Utopian paradise unfolding in Minnesota under a Modern Progressivism while the neighboring Wisconsin withers under the New Conservatism.
He does point out a couple of things that I think are key to, maybe, a more accurate analysis:
"... Wisconsin ranks 34th for job growth. Mr. Walker’s defenders blame the higher spending and taxes of his Democratic predecessor... "
"The lion’s share of Minnesota’s new tax revenue was sunk into human capital... "
" Minnesota raised taxes by $2.1 billion, the largest increase in recent state history... "
" Higher taxes and economic growth in Minnesota have attracted a surprisingly broad coalition. Businesses complain about taxes, but many cheered Mr. Dayton’s investments in the Mayo Clinic, the new Vikings stadium, the Mall of America and 3M headquarters."
These simply say to me: Yes, it's natural for the current political apparatus to blame it's predecessor for its current problems, but I suspect there is some truth in Wisconsin's present case (coupled, of course, with the bad economy).
I also suspect that Minnesota's economic growth is probably the fruit of former fiscally conservative policies.
And while the good professor seems to point to these things as proof of how the New Progressivism and taxing the rich works, I think it's actually an illusion (and I believe history bears this out) and it will ultimately fail.
While raising taxes on whatever is currently prospering almost always initially will produce a high revenue it puts a drag on whatever (whoever) is producing the wealth and begins to choke it out.
However good-hearted the programs that are funded by these new government gains, these are more like appeasement to sooth and pacify us and we, who are too busy struggling to survive and /or too caught up in our recreation and hedonism, can say, "ooh, my Governor (or whichever leader) IS good, he gave me a new stadium and fixed the Mall of America and gave me stuff. "
[Remember when all of us poor citizens got a couple hundred bucks under George W's administration to simulate our economy? Well, that sure came in handy, but I remained unemployed for a long time after the jobs disappeared forever - I would have preferred that my job opportunities still existed and that the government would have just butted out long ago and let us prosper and pull each other up rather than "helping" us by providing the so-called "safety net" that we've been taxed to death to have (and the NON-PRODUCERS have always had as incentive to remain non-producers as many seem to have come to the understanding that they are entitled to it).!]
Then later, I guess, when things fall apart, we'll have already forgotten - more likely, never paid much attention to in the first place - what really happened and we can blame the other guy and look to our government to bail us out again.
Meanwhile the government continues its unprecedented immense expansion with out of control spending and deficits as it bails out the banking institutions that failed us (and they failed to regulate) so that they can keep on helping us.
And "everything will be okay" as long as we "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" while our big friendly government tells us that "we have nothing to fear as long as we're doing nothing wrong! "
- yeesh!
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/opinion/sunday/right-vs-left-in-the-midwest.html?pagewanted=all
~Magnus ~ Posted via Blogaway
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