Across the political spectrum we hear warnings about America's future. Yet serious change never arrives. Our political debates are altogether trivial. Our leaders pretend to have debates over spending cuts, but only one percent of the budget is actually on the chopping block. They pretend to have debates on foreign policy, but their wars are supported by both major parties and all major newspapers. And they do not even pretend to have debates on monetary policy.
Americans are told to choose between the soft socialism of left progressives on the one hand and the centralized, big-spending warfare state on the other. In practice, though, they do not get any real choice, not even this noxious one. They get government intervention both at home and abroad — the Left having long since made its peace with endless foreign intervention, and neoconservatives having supported the welfare state all along. Meanwhile, bankruptcy looms.