Friday, May 14, 2010

Great role model ya got there, Barack

Victor Davis Hanson enumerates the problems of the European Union, and shows that Obama's desire to turn us into Euroweenies is hopelessly misguided (but, on the upside, potentially damaging to his political career). Here's a taste:
Democratic socialism has been shown to be unsustainable, and this has become the subtext of much of the populist anger at Obamaism. After September 2008, the crack-up of a wild Wall Street was to bring on a referendum on the intrinsic contradictions of capitalism. But at the same time, many wondered why, then, some wiser Europeans were still moving to open up their economies rather than add more government, taxes, and bureaucracies. In truth, the United States, should it remain a free-market open economy, will be able to survive September 2008 far better than the Europeans can survive Greece and what is to follow — largely because, despite Obama, America is still far more entrepreneurial and business-friendly. Our states are integrated in a way that Europe is not. Californians and Arizonans may not like each other right now, but their animosities do not affect the U.S. dollar, the Federal Reserve, and Social Security, in the way that the German-Greek showdown involves basic policies of finance, regulation, and pensions — well aside from linguistic, cultural, and historical differences. Like it or not, Europe, and especially Greece, are the canaries in the American mine: Try Googling “Greece” + “California” for the details from some 60 million results.

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