More Disillusionment

I finally got around to reading this week's US News & World Report; Mortimer Zuckerman has an excellent editorial on the unlikelihood of fiscal discipline (i.e. spending increases at or below the rate of inflation) returning to DC.

As Zuckerman notes, this is an problem that involves both parties... Republicans are apparently just as likely to spend, spend, spend as Democrats.

Are our politicians today so concerned that we won't support them on principled stances that they have to buy our votes by spending as much as possible on programs they think we want? Are we -- the citizens -- so greedy and selfish that we turn to the government first whenever we have a problem, expecting prompt resolution (preferably in small bills, Congressman) from the feds instead of turning to our friends, neighbors, and fellow church-goers?

The federalism established and envisioned by our Founding Fathers appears to be on its last legs, my friends, if not already dead. Unfortunately, the vast majority of our fellow citizens don't seem to notice, let alone care. Hey, they've got their MTV after all.