*Posted by Winston Hottman
If you haventseen Ross Douthats latest column at the NY Times, entitled Washington Versus America,its worth a read. He exposes the alarmingdiscrepancy between Washington D.C.s economic boom and the economiccondition of the rest of the country. Theobvious question is how something like this can happen:
Whence comes this wealth? Mostly from Washingtons one major industry: the federal government. Not from direct federal employment, which has risen only modestly of late, but from the growing armies of lobbyists and lawyers, contractors and consultants, who make their living advising and influencing and facilitating the public sectors work.
In reality, our government isnt running trillion-dollar deficits because were letting the working class get away with not paying its fair share. Were running those deficits because too many powerful interest groups have a stake in making sure the party doesnt stop.
When you look around the richest precincts of todays Washington, you dont see a city running on paternalism or dependency. You see a city running on exploitation.
Read the rest of his article here.