The Telegraph headline read, “The ‘rich countries’ are no
longer in any state to pay for everyone else.”
At this point, that shouldn’t be surprising. Join the
club.
I’m a middle-class kind of guy… who has worked extremely
long and hard for what I have. I am taxed to the hilt. Yet everyone wants a
donation. From me to them. There are fees and charges attached to every good
and service I purchase. I’d like to be able to do more for others, but I am
soon tapped out and wondering how I am going to support my family and leave a
little for my offspring. There are a great many of us in the same proverbial
boat.
There is an old song by Ten Years After, titled “I’d Love
to Change the World,” with lyrics that read in part, “Tax the rich, feed the
poor, till there are no rich no more.” That is the way it works with the (formerly)
wealthy nations, as well. Many Western nations have given so much abroad and created
such vast and elaborate welfare bureaucracies at home-- and allowed
welcomed such astronomical numbers of immigrants into their countries (most
from places that are not only poor but bereft of basic notions of civilization
and liberty), that they themselves are now teetering on the edge of poverty and
chaos.
These nations are taxing their ever fewer productive
citizens at an unsustainable rate, even as they usher in millions of
undocumented migrants, many of whom are looking for a handout rather than an
opportunity. Declining fertility rates lead to declining domestic populations
and fewer workers to support an ever-aging population and the vast welfare
state. Wealth redistribution dwarfs defense spending. The middle-class
dissolves as a permanent underclass swells. Leftists think this is a good
thing, insofar as they believe it makes them indispensable and cements their
power for eternity. Which also assures that these nations will never be great,
prosperous, or free again. In addition, there is an obsessive focus on spending
ourselves into oblivion attempting to fight “global warming,” which is likely
not even occurring, at least due to man, and is certainly outside of our
ability to control.
And then there is the looming threat that A.I. could lead
to the elimination of hundreds of thousands or even millions of jobs. Where
would that leave us?
I, too, would like to change the world. To change it in a
beneficial direction, Western countries would have to find their Mojo,
confidence, and independence. Their governments would have to dramatically
restrict or eliminate illegal immigration, reduce taxes and regulation, cease
punishing productivity and rewarding sloth, return to Judeo-Christian values
(gasp!), protect the inherent rights of the individual, and re-emphasize their
histories and traditions.
How likely does this all seem to you?