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unhinged
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from the book 'the populist temptation: economic grievance and political reaction in the modern era' by barry eichengreen
'ideology doesn't exist in a vacuum, of course. this distinctively american antipathy to government and the championing of individualism have material roots. the hostility of early americans toward government was a reaction against the navigation acts and other economic impositions by the english on their north american colonies. their exaltation of individualism stemmed from an abundance of natural resources and the safety valve of the frontier, which made it possible, in actual fact, for many americans to lift themselves up by their bootstraps...
resistance to federal government intervention also reflected the country's historic division between black and white and between north and south...white southerners were not opposed to DEcentralization of social programs or to receiving federal matching funds so long ast he design or at least the administration of those programs devolved to the states. such devolution was consequently a legacy of the new deal, one that endures even today, for example in the power of states to decide whether to expand medicaid to cover low-income households under the affordable care act.
in practice, those individual state, acting on their own, can go some way toward addressing their residents' concerns over economic insecurity and inequality, but only some way...meanwhile suspicion of and therefore opposition to federal social programs remains intense. for an america with this inheritance, the challenge of organizing adjustment assistance and compensating the casualties of globalization and technical change is daunting.
this same history of division works in still other ways to limit willingness of americans to fund collective goods, including social and economic insurance...and what is true of racial diversity is true also of ethnic and religious diversity that, in other respects, is a strength of the united states but which makes it more difficult to contemplate income redistribution, to provide public goods, and specifically to organize social insurance against economic insecurity, give lack of SOLIDARITY and the belief that the benefits of such programs accrue to others.
from this perspective, the contradictory nature of populism in the united states is no anomaly. people displace by globalization and technical change are distressed about not sharing in the benefits of an expanding economy and by their government's failure to do more about it, leaving them susceptible to the siren song of populism. but there views are also informed by an ideology that tells them government is the problem, not the solution. one can't help but think of the constituent who allegedly warned representative robert inglis of south carolina, at a town hall meeting, to 'keep your government hands off my medicare,' not realizing that medicare was a government program. herein lies the appeal of donald trump, who gives voice to the anger of the masses over their economic condition and the failure of the government to address their problems, all in the manner of a populist, but who also opposes more spending on social insurance, more trade adjustment assistance, and higher taxes on the rich, all in the manner of a committed Randian. this is not a combination that bodes a happy ending.'
sometimes it takes an outside view to logically explain something. what barry is saying here is exactly why republican politicians and voters drive me crazy. they claim the government doesn't work so they make sure it doesn't work by cut cut cutting everything. unfortunately, history runs deep to the point where conservatives are totally blinded by tradition even when it is clear that tradition is tearing us apart.
(sometimes i can't help but wonder what my country would be like if the south would have succeeded. if they would have stayed out of my damn country and kept their bullshit to themselves. i have a sneaking suspicion that as a northerner, i would currently have a much better life, actually get something from the government for the taxes i pay)
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