Originally Posted By mawnck <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-johnson/did-bush-leave-us-bankrup_b_452358.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...358.html</a> >>It is already too late for America? I'm starting to think that the anti-tax, anti-government conservative movement that started in the mid-70s, elected Reagan and led to the terrible Bush Presidency may have effectively destroyed the country, leaving it bankrupt, corrupt,ungovernable, ruled by a wealthy elite -- and we're only now just starting to realize it. To cover tax cuts we stopped maintaining the infrastructure and started borrowing. To satisfy their hatred of government we increasingly stripped away rule of law, regulation, and belief in one-person-one-vote. We are seeing the consequences of all of that coming back to roost now.<< More at the link. While I think the article goes a bit overboard with laying the blame totally at the feet of conservatives, I also think he gets our country's current situation exactly right. He also quotes from another article that posits that the rest of the world is starting to turn their backs on democracy after seeing what we've done to ourselves with it. >>Indeed, speaking of phrases I've never heard here (the Davos World Economic Forum) before, another goes like this: "Is the 'Beijing Consensus' replacing the 'Washington Consensus?' " Washington Consensus is a term coined after the cold war for the free-market, pro-trade and globalization policies promoted by America. ... developing countries everywhere are looking "for a recipe for faster growth and greater stability than that offered by the now tattered 'Washington Consensus' of open markets, floating currencies and free elections." And as they do, "there is growing talk about a 'Beijing Consensus.' " The Beijing Consensus, ... is a "Confucian-Communist-Capitalist" hybrid under the umbrella of a one-party state, with a lot of government guidance, strictly controlled capital markets and an authoritarian decision-making process that is capable of making tough choices and long-term investments, without having to heed daily public polls.<<
