The Looming Reversal of Centralization
“The present political system is clearly insane. It suffers from schizophrenia. Around the world, almost no one trusts the politicians, yet almost everyone votes for incumbent politicians who promise to reform the government.
Voters now suspect (correctly) that all Western governments are headed for bankruptcy because of the pension programs and government-funded medicine, yet these two programs are politically untouchable. Voters demand them.
For four decades, soft-core critics of the pension/Medicare systems have come to voters with this announcement: “The two systems can be reformed, but we must act now. If we delay, they will bankrupt the government.” Yet the systems are never reformed.
Then, a decade later, the next group of optimistic reformers comes forward with this same promise: “The systems can be reformed if we just act now.” Nobody believes them. Nobody should. If the programs really can be reformed “if we act now,” then the previous warnings were mere scaremongering. There really was no hurry. So, Congress asks rhetorically: “Why should we believe that we need to hurry now?” Result: the systems never get reformed. Congress kicks the can.”
