Hillary’s Cradle to Grave Dependency State

Originally posted July 11, 2016.

If a presidential candidate is perfectly willing to compromise national security, up to and including “top secret” information, in order to evade legitimate FOIA requests, doesn’t that seem to disqualify her for seeking to be President? As Francis Menton admits in the Manhattan Contrarian, it is a hard one to top. But Mr. Menton suggests an even more insidious candidate that disqualifies Hillary for President.

Hillary has literally no idea how the economy works.  Like all good progressives, she does not understand that wealth is generated by the hard work of the people in the presence of property rights, freedom of exchange, and the rule of law.  Instead, she thinks that the wealth comes from the tooth fairy; that government taxing and spending is costless; and that it’s up to the government to distribute the free money in a way to create a world of perfect fairness and justice.  The idea that this agenda might have the side effect of undermining incentives and wealth creation and impoverishing the people has literally never occurred to her.

In “A plan to raise American incomes” on Hillary Clinton’s website, here’s what Mr. Menton notes Hillary would do as President:

• First, is there a single place here (or elsewhere on her website) where you can find any recognition that the wealth and success of the United States has come from the hard work of the people instead of from the government?  If there is, I can’t find it.
• “Give working families a raise . . . .” Nothing to it, I guess.  It’s just all free money coming from the government.  Hillary thinks she can make Americans richer by passing out government money.
• “Create good-paying jobs and get pay rising by investing in infrastructure, clean energy, and scientific and medical research to strengthen our economy and growth.”  That’s right, “good paying jobs” in Hillary world are all funded by government spending.  Try to find a counter-example on her website.
• How about the “New College Compact.” Under pressure from the forces of Bernie, Hillary now proposes free college for all, or almost all.  Cost?  $350 billion, according to her website.  Whew!  But don’t worry, it’s all free money.  Does it ever occur to Hillary that with $350 billion to blow, the state universities will just raise their prices and make it all disappear
• Take a moment to focus on that part that says “investing . . . in clean energy.” Recognize that the government does not need to invest a dime in energy for the U.S. economy to provide all the energy that it uses at the lowest cost that anyone can find.  “Investing in clean energy” is obvious code for spending government dollars to subsidize environmentally-correct renewables produced by government cronies at uneconomic cost.  This is what competent economists call “wealth destruction.”  Does Hillary know or understand that government subsidies to uneconomic businesses destroy the wealth of the people and the country?

The millennial voters whom Hillary Clinton is trying to bribe don’t seem to realize they’ll pay for “free” college and “free” everything else for the rest of their lives, writes the WSJ.

As debt and entitlements increase as the baby boomers retire, there aren’t enough millionaires to soak. The politicians will have to raise taxes, and probably severely, on millennials as they reach their peak earning years. Mrs. Clinton’s proposal amounts to a giant national student loan to be repaid with future taxes.