No, not grasshoppers. Locusts.
Yesterday, I talked about liberals being the prison guards (and sometimes willful prisoners) in Socrates' Cavern. Today, I want to look at the idea of Liberals as Locusts.
What do I mean? Well, like Locusts, Liberals (especially Rich Liberals, but all of them really) like Big Government. They vote for big government, and a huge welfare state. As a result, the government then hikes taxes, and institutes all kinds of nanny-state regulations, strangling business. Eventually (sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly) the state begins to fail, all of the resources have been exploited, and Liberals move on to the next state.
For instance: in the 60's, California was a relatively Conservative state. Ronald Reagan was Governor there beginning in 1967 (elected in 66). He enacted welfare reform (which increased benefits, but decreased recipients). Reagan was then succeeded by Jerry Brown (yes, that Jerry Brown) in 1974. Thus began the swift decline of California. Taxes went up, services went up, taxes went up some more. And now businesses and "the rich" are fleeing California in droves.
If this were the only example, it might be accepted as an anomaly. It is not the only example, however.
In the 1990s and early 2000s (and probably before) Colorado was a fairly conservative state. They voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, for example. However, during those years many of those same Californians fleeing the decline of their State saw Colorado as a prosperous state, and decided they wanted some of that. So they moved there. Lucky for Colorado, they had already passed a Constitutional Amendment capping growth in Government Spending. Nevertheless, Colorado, once a reliable Red State, is now reliably blue. They voted overturned their Republican majorities in 2006. In 2008 and 2012 they voted for Barack Obama.
The amount of damage Colorado can suffer (currently) is fairly low. Because of that prior law, there's only so much money the State has to spend, which limits the monkeying with their taxes somewhat. All it takes, though, is a repeal of that Amendment, and the Democrats will be truly loosed on the State.
We can look to the East as well. New York Liberals are fleeing to Florida, making it more Liberal as well.
In both of these cases, when they finally use up all the resources there, they will look elsewhere. Perhaps my own Texas. Perhaps Oklahoma.
This is part of the Liberal Ideology. I don't believe there is any specific plan, here, but it is inherent in how Liberals think. They believe they are entitled to all of these "services" and so force the Government (really: other taxpayers) to provide them. When there is no more wherewithal to provide them, or the cost to themselves gets too high, they move on. And they never learn that the only thing not changing in all of this is their own policies.
Hey Allen.
ReplyDeleteI am de-lurking as I do sometimes on AOS to comment here. Nice blog, I enjoy your posts.
Anyway, I live in California...a resident since I was one years old (moved here in 1973) and I can tell you that the state has changed drastically within the last 25 years. The last time the state went to a Republican was in 1988 and before the late 90s, we enjoyed having Republican governors. One thing that never gets mentioned is the fact that the California Legislature has been under Democrat control since 1970, the exception being the Assembly in Republican hands for the 1995-96 session. Also, the increased and encouranged illegal immigration problem has dramatically changed the landscape. I grew up in Orange County, which use to be a solid Republican territory, yet now there are pockets where the liberals (illegals) have turned it blue.
It's sad to see what has happened to California, especially with the wealthy and businesses fleeing. As the old saying goes...as California goes, so does the nation. I just hope other states take heed and not follow suit.
*I should note that I moved back to California after serving in the military for 11 years. I barely recognized some areas that I use to visit.
I left you a fairly lengthy answer on the open thread where you asked the question but I think in a lot of ways CO is a micro version of what's happened in the nation. The majority of original Coloradoans were occupied being useful and mi.ding their own business and didn't think to tell the newcomers "Conform or keep moving" but just assumed they'd get the hint. Now those same Coloradoans are leaving for WY, MT, or TX because they don't recognize the state anymore and the locusts' victory will be complete.
ReplyDeleteThat is a corollary to the metaphor. If Liberals = Locusts, is there any form of 'pest control' we can use? Simply paying attention would go a long way.
DeleteTrue. The problem is that you have to be paying attention *at (or at least near) the beginning* and it's frequently only possible to find the beginning in hindsight. Maybe Texans, the people of Wyoming, etc. have a chance since they have the opportunity to be forewarned. There's a good chance it's too late for CO now.
DeleteMade me look up the definition of locust vs. grasshopper. Seems the general definition is that locusts are grasshoppers who swarm, grasshoppers who don't swarm are just grasshoppers. (quibbling with the "not grasshoppers" statement)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely an appropriate label - once you reach a critical mass, they destroy everything nearby and then migrate elsewhere to continue the destruction; stopping only when they die off.
Wiki notes that the American locust has mysteriously disappeared for 150 years; apparently the behavior jumped species barriers.
Deukmejian and Wilson were good governors, and held the office from 1983-1998. The downfall of California began in the late 1990s and was a combination of permissive immigration policies, the election of Schwarzenegger, the bursting of the dot com bubble, and the consolidation of power in the legislature by the Democrats.
ReplyDeleteAll it takes is one hippie coffee shop. After that its all over. A handful of yuppies stop by for a dose of home and hippie love fellowship. They decide its pretty and buy a place. Part of the problem is telecommuting which allows rich yuppies to stay rich yuppies even after they have left one of the economic centers, but its only a factor. Anyplace that has been left largely untouched by the libs and has pretty scenery is doomed. Salt Lake, Albuquerque, Sante Fe, Much of the semi rural and the fully urban areas of Colorado, I've even heard similar complaints from friends in Alaska. They throw real estate out of whack paying whatever it takes to be within bicycle distance of that cursed coffee shop and the gentrification begins. Suddenly the middle class who built it are forced out by the rich yuppies who assuage their guilt by 'allowing' illegals in for cheap labor. They then hand over the local government to fellow travelers promising to bring the place up to speed. You know, get them caught up with the progressive first world they just fled. Its similar to larger corporations hoarding in on a developing economic sector by getting the government to regulate the little guys out of business. Larger companies are not very agile or adaptable, smaller ones are. These smaller ones can be defeated with regulation. Larger companies live for more paperwork while smaller ones drown under it.
ReplyDelete