The Growing Disconnect between the "sane" and "fiscally sound" Beltway Insiders and the Rest of Us
The DC Beltway is one of the last big factory towns in America. The factory is the government/political/military/intelligence industrial complex. In addition to many people directly employed by the government, there are a lot of contractors, think tanks, lobbying firms, and ancillary businesses that support the factory. Ironically, Paul Ryan made a career for himself by working in the factory from lowly staffer to now Vice Presidential nominee. He went from sweeping the factory floor to being second in command.
Unlike most factory towns in America, the Beltway factory does not have to worry about jobs going overseas or about H1B visas being imported to work in the Think Tanks for pennies on the dollar. No, the Beltway factory never closes it doors. Never stops hiring, and it's employees gain a certain economic level of comfort that most American workers dream about.
This economic comfort has created a wide disconnect between the Beltway insiders and the rest of us. Whether you've just graduated from college or are entering your 50s, your life is about dealing with debt, finding employment, job insecurity, and just trying to save something, anything for retirement. There are no Think Tanks in Cleveland. There are no policy institutes Michigan. There is just daily survival.
This is why it's so easy for the "sane" and "fiscally sound" Beltway Insiders to look dispassionately at the growth of entitlements and fret that something must be done. They see entitlements as numbers on a page. The rest of us see entitlements as life boats saving us from dying in the streets. They do not see current tax rates for the wealthy as a problem, as they themselves are part of the top 10% tax earners or their clients are. increasing taxes on the rich mean increasing their own taxes. They have no problem advocating extending the retirement age because their jobs don't require any physical labor.
When it comes to war, they wax eloquently about the need to invade and occupy any nation deemed a "threat". They have no problems writing columns or appearing on shows like Meet The Press or Face Nation calling for an invasion. Why not? Their children won't have to fight. Someone else's child does. And, they quickly shelve their "sane" and "fiscally sound" arguments, because it's a time of war for Pete's sake. Damn the deficit. We are a super power, and we cannot allow [fill-in-the-blank-nation] to acquire nuclear weapons!
Once we go to war, the bills come due, it's back to "we must cut entitlements" because we have a looming fiscal crisis on our hands!
The Beltway insiders live in a different world from you and me.
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