Anatomy of a Disaster
According to news reports, California is anxiously awaiting federal designation of a natural disaster in the wake of Hurricane Hilary, and state officials are clamoring for financial assistance from FEMA. Such designations are expected following almost any non-routine or extraordinary event, and the related funds and benefits are increasingly deemed entitlements.
However, it is interesting to note that California alone represents roughly 15% of America’s GDP [$3.6T — 2022]. Based on that measure, California is the 5th largest economy in the world, surpassing both India and the United Kingdom. If California cannot plan for, manage, fund, and remediate its own natural disasters, what then should be expected of the other states? How is it that peoples and states, which are unwilling or unable to do for themselves, come to expect “others” (by and through the federal government) to do for them?
There is a growing dependence upon the federal government by the people of the nation and among the several states. It is as if money and resources come to the federal government like manna from heaven, and everyone is eager for “their share.” However, government’s “charity” is based upon the willingness and ability of a limited and shrinking producer class to pay a compulsory tithe to the church of statism (i.e. taxes). When the most capable and propertied are among the self-identifying “victims” — themselves seeking remedy and redress from government, who then is left to fund government’s largess?
When taxes prove inadequate, the federal government attempts to manipulate America’s fiat currency — the dollar. In essence, the federal government creates money out of thin air; however, “printing” more dollars makes existing dollars less valuable. A corresponding price must be paid in the form of inflation and/or increased interest. Interest and inflation are backdoor taxes on the people.
Over a decade ago, Erskine Bowles, Co-Chair of Obama’s Deficit Reduction Commission, said that deficit spending by the federal government was certain to give rise to the “most predictable economic crisis in history.” Rather than reining in deficit spending, it continues entirely unabated. As a result, the National Debt stands in excess of $31 Trillion.
These are mechanisms, through which government attempts to hide and obscure the true costs of “free stuff.” Government promises that the costs will be paid by some unrelated and disfavored class of “others.” Or, the burdens are passed down to future generations of taxpayers yet unborn, who cannot speak for themselves and who cannot vote. It is management by crisis: Allow a predictable and naturally occurring situation to fester into a full-blown crisis, and then, expect government to swoop in to save the day at any costs and by all means necessary.
When the “richest” state, California, eagerly suckles on the federal teat, there can be no doubt that all other states and their citizens will be so inclined and that those more “victimized” parties will feel even more entitled. The federal government is expected to cure all ills and to remediate every harm, loss, or inconvenience. This assures that individuals are less inclined toward personal responsibility, and the respective states are less motivated to do for themselves.
Potential and opportunity are lost in favor of dependence and subjugation. Recklessness increases. Prudence wanes. Damages increase, and costs multiply. Expectations and demands are increasingly unreasonable. Eventually, the needs, wants, and whims are insatiable. Unrest is certain to result when the insatiable confront the incapable. This story has a very predictable ending, and it never ends well. It is a recipe for certain and catastrophic failure. It is a (natural) disaster of epic proportions.
