One of the major themes of this blog (if not the major theme) is that the wealthy control America, not the right or the left. On top of that, they're doing a pretty lousy job of running things. Their basic problem, I believe, is immaturity.
As parents, we have an impulse to shield our children from the unpleasant truths of life, for instance, that actions have consequences. Suppose you see your son spit chewing gum on the ground. A trivial thing, really, but what they call a "teachable moment:" you can take your son aside and explain why littering is wrong. It makes the area look bad; someone could step on the gum; a dog might eat it and get sick; and so on. Most of all, it gives you a chance to counteract the child's natural tendancy, which is to be lazy, sloppy, inconsiderate, and self-centered. Bad habits, like trash, tend to accumulate.
Suppose it's a few years later, and your son leaves his dirty clothes on the floor. Another teachable moment. There is a hygiene issue; taking a few seconds and using a hamper is not a hardship; someone eventually has to pick them up and wash them. You could even make him responsible for his own laundry. Suppose, though, that you let it slide. You now reinforce, not counteract, his childish tendencies. He does what he wants without consequence, knowing that you will take care of any messes he creates.
Suppose it's a few more years later. Your son has discovered cars, sex, drugs. A teachable moment at this point could involve a night in jail, and you don't want to do that to your little snowflake.
And now he's a trader on Wall Street. He's still lazy, making a living by moving around other people's money. He's still sloppy, using financial instruments he doesn't understand. He's still inconsiderate, not caring what could happen to others, to the economy. He's still self-centered, focusing only on his bonus. He's surrounded by people just like him, all reinforcing each other's behavior. When the economy crashes, it's not his fault, because nothing is ever his fault, he never learned that actions have consequences.
And you still have to clean up his mess. You can't possibly save his bank with your own money, so you go to the government and blackmail or bribe them into using public money.
Take a step back. Now you're a taxpayer again. You have to pay, with your taxes, even with your job, to clean up a spoiled child's mess. It's not just unfair, it should be a crime. Actions have consequences.
The wealthy, though, can make consequences go away. We all know there are two sets of laws in this country, one for them, one for the rest of us. They can commit crimes and force others to suffer the punishment. Make no mistake, someone always suffers.
Don't believe me? Look at our infrastructure. In the 1950s the federal government invested in the future by building a system of wide, uninterrupted, public roads: the Interstate system. At the time they knew that the materials they used wouldn't last more than 50 years. The clock is ticking. Like any other roads, Interstates need basic maintenance. To do all these repairs, refurbishments, and replacements would take manpower, thus providing jobs for the foreseeable future.
In the 1980s federal spending became unpopular. Other industrialized nations spend about 10% of the national budget on their roads; our share has drooped to 2%. The roads are in bad shape, and they will get worse. If we start work immediately, they will get even worse, but then they will get better. If we wait too long, they will become almost useless. Without the Interstates, trucks will have to divert to state roads, which are also poorly maintained. Goods will take longer to get to market--including basic goods like food, gasoline, clothing--and they will be more expensive. Travel will become more dangerous. Bridges will collapse, like the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis in 2007. And it will get worse before it gets better.
That's not quite what you expect if you believe in less government spending, is it? But actions have consequences. Less spending on infrastructure means less infrastructure. It's that simple.
The wealthy want you to believe in less government spending. That means they pay less in taxes. As a bonus, the government, starved of funds, can't regulate business properly--even more profit. They win, we suffer the consequences.