Obama’s Washington Monument Syndrome

Faced with the threat of federal government spending increasing by “only” 7 percent instead of some higher, pie-in-the-sky amount, the Obammunists are busy crying “BUDGET CUTS!!!!!” knowing full well that no one in Washington has proposed “cutting” a red cent from the federal budget.  The Republicans play the same lying game, lying incessantly about non-existent “defense cuts.”  (In Washingtonese, if one proposes a $100 billion spending increase, and actual spending increases by “only” $90 billion, they call it a $10 billion budget cut).

Then there’s the Washington Monument Syndrome game that has been mastered primarily by state and local governments.  The game is this:  Whenever a politician is “threatened” with a minor slowdown in spending, the first thing to do is to eliminate police, firefighters, ambulance services, school buses, etc. — everything that inflicts the maximum discomfort on the victims of the government monopoly (a.k.a., taxpayers).  The booboisie then wake up from their American Idol stupor for a moment to raise a fuss, and the proposals to slow down spending growth disappear.  (It’s called the “Washington Monument Syndrome” because the head of the National Park Service shut down the Washington Monument in the ’60s in response to Congress’s temporary refusal to fund his complete spending wish list.  Tourists from every state complained to their congressmen, and the Park Service wish list was fully funded).

But it may not work for the Obammunists, for their biggest threat so far is to furlough “civilian defense employees.”  Unlike ambulance or school bus drivers, these bureaucrats provide no useful service to anyone.  They will be the only ones complaining.  The booboisie will continue on in full American Idol mode.  Most of them are merely former murderers for the state (a.k.a., “veterans”) who do nothing at all for the benefit of the average American voter.  The Obammunists will have to do something more drastic, like furlough all the air traffic controllers or cancel mail delivery for a month or so if they want to get their way.

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8:25 am on February 21, 2013