Pop Culture
Victor Davis Hanson's excellent post on his recent trip to Palo Alto fuels thought on Obama's racial and age-driven appeals to voters. Not much has been written on the phenomenon of those aged 21-30 who already, unlike their boomer parents, have to contend with a supremely competitive globalized labor market, and who also now face unemployment approaching 20%. Their entry into middle-class life will be delayed as well as marriage and children. Hanson hints that the real casualty will be yet another group divorced from real citizenship as their primary means of support are "outsourced" to their parents and social service agencies while they maintain consumerist trappings with their reduced incomes. This divorce from responsibility will certainly not aid this group in being independent and capable of self-government. Gone are the qualities of their grandparents and great-grand parents utilized in even tougher times.
In appealing to this group of situated losers as losers, and in need of his policies, Obama continues the work of the classic redistributionist politician. Frugalities, suffering, hardship are so difficult and unnecessary. Hanson's note on trips to Bestbuy and to get the latest iPod are instructive of the mentality.
Good article by Hanson. It is interesting that people do live through the technology via the internet and that the government promotes this lifestyle by cracking down on the 'cyber bullies' while moving to censor and restrict the free nature of the net at the same time.
Its the end of the middle class. When the boomers run out of money to support their middle aged kids what happens? The grandchildren can't bum off the bums. It really is a serious problem and the predictable reaction of the government we are seeing right now is to gear up to violently strike down any and all signs of revolt that will natually grow out of the disillusionment. The jobs the boomers held for 40 years are simply disapearing as they retire. We really are going back in time while surrounded by future technology. I think the new order is simply going to be the finance/government eliite; a small middle class of government people working for them and the unwashed masses. All hail the new dark age.