REAL CAUSE OF BITTERNESS

During this Presidential election cycle we have heard the word change tossed around as if simply saying it will resolve all the problems of the world. One candidate calls for hope. Hope for what? Change. Change what? Whatever you want as long as you vote for me. If you haven't noticed, that is politics as usual.

That same candidate raised the subject of bitterness on the part of middle America where decades of economic degradation fostered by an uncaring, do nothing government has caused people to cling to guns and god. Most notably that is the candidate promising to change it all and make it better.

What a crock!

As the piece below notes, the cause of the bitterness in the parts of America that have been abandoned by progress of late is, as is the case more often than not, local. It is the result of misguided policies that have been locked in place by misinformed politicians which continue to block any chance for change. Ultimately, when you get down to the root cause of the decline it can most often be attributed to high taxes, unions and over regulation. In the end the fix will have to come locally. It will not be possible to impose the necessary change from Washington DC.

Yet the most fascinating aspect of all of this is that much of the advocacy of the Presidential candidate of Hope and Change is increased taxes, more regulation, and greater power to unions.

It seems the more things CHANGE, the more they stay the same.


The Rust Belt Should Be Bitter
By JEFF DURSTEWITZ

In the firestorm touched off by Barack Obama's comments about those who "cling to" guns and religion out of economic resentment, most analysis missed a crucial point: The "bitterness" felt in the so-called Rust Belt is mainly a product of high-tax, highly unionized states.

While there are pockets of prosperity in Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Ohio and Michigan, a good deal of this area is economically depressed. That's not because of Washington's policies (or lack thereof). These policies aren't killing Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and Florida.

While southern states do have problems, their governments generally don't smother economic growth by layering on ever-rising taxation, regulation and expenses. They don't permit workers to be forced to join closed-shop unions. No one in D.C. – Obama, Clinton, McCain or Superman – can fix the Rust Belt's self-inflicted wounds.

Western New York offers a prime example. Despite proximity to major markets, a long international border with a major trading partner, a well-developed transport system, untold natural splendors and a well-educated workforce, the Buffalo area's population shrinks every year. Why? High taxes, high government costs and forced unionization are major factors.

New York state is run by and for its public-employee unions, particularly teachers, but several others as well. The unions collect dues and then recycle a significant amount of what they collect into politicians' campaign funds. These contributions (plus state electoral law, which seems designed to protect incumbents and hobble challengers) produce tax-and-expense structures that drive employers away. To varying degrees, the same is true for much of the Rust Belt.

Mr. Obama referred to the ire of poor folks who've been given false promises in the past by national politicians. The real falsehood is the notion that federal programs or subsidies can overcome a state's own ruinous policies.

Mr. Durstewitz, co-author of "Younger Than That Now – A Shared Passage From the Sixties" (Bantam, 2001), lives in Saratoga Springs, NY.

URL for this article:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121097955205299961.html
Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved