California demonstrates the turn of mind that has led government at all levels to near bankruptcy. It provides an example of the consequences of irresponsible and profligate spending undertaken by leftist ideologues unleavened by effective opposition.
Crisis clarifies. Our vast economic disaster is the historically predictable culmination of a century of public policy experimentation ungrounded in empirical reference. It is the result of an hubristic idealism translated into policy prescription; a process founded in Platonist thought and prefigured by the repeated failure of communal idylls.
The flow of growth is a constant in enterprise. Bare survival requires thrift and yields caution as a lack of resource demands careful husbanding. The elevation of living standards resulting from the accumulation of wealth creates opportunities for leisure and expansive resource deployment. It creates an environment that is the seed of charity. It is true in industry. It is true in personal finance. It is true in government.
When times are good and money is flowing, it is easy spend on optional activities. In families it might be charity, better vacations, bigger, more luxurious homes and more non-essential “stuffâ€. In business, it might be more employees to pick up work executives would rather not do, more generous benefits or expenditures on supplies and non-essential equipment and services. In government, it is the implementation of programs that are not at the root of government’s protective purpose but which some might think desirable.
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