Thick As Thieves

One of John Kenneth Galbraith’s pet economic themes was that Government, Labor and Big Business were in constant competition with one another, and that it was necessary to keep any two from ganging up on one. To which Bill Buckley responded with the exquisite insight that it is just as likely, if not more so, that all three might gang up on the taxpayer.

My friends, we are seeing Buckley’s prediction come true right now, as all three entities have combined to engage in wholesale theft. We have Pelosi declaring that hundreds of millions of dollars spent on contraceptives are a necessary part of the stimulus bill (and where, may I ask, are tomorrow’s tax payers going to come from?) We have troubled Citigroup, a primary beneficiary of the banking bailout, spending $50MM on a new corporate jet (and a French one, to boot). The auto workers are resisting any attempt to substantially reduce their non-wage compensation, and in an act of complete lunacy, Obama is going to give California the freedom to set its own, more restrictive, auto emissions standards - all against the background of the Big Three baying for more handouts.

I think maybe it’s time for a real taxpayers’ union – not just a lobbying group, but a bona fide union with an actual voice in setting fiscal priorities. I’m looking forward to our first strike, and to breakin’ a few heads. Taxpayers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your “change”!