Related to the update in the previous post, definitely, albeit as the exception that proves the rule.
The crisis of democracy is really a crisis for the left
Why is the left flailing? Look at New York vs. Florida.Countries with more than half of the world’s population went to the polls last year. And the basic message they sent to their governments was one of dissatisfaction and anger with the status quo. Their frustration seemed to be particularly focused on the side that has traditionally been identified with big government, the left.
Almost everywhere you look, the left is in ruins. Of the 27 countries of the European Union, only a handful have left-of-center parties leading government coalitions. The primary left-of-center party in the European Parliament now has just 136 seats in a 720-seat chamber. Even in countries that have been able to stem the rise of right-wing populism, such as Poland, it is the center-right that is thriving, not the left. And in the United States, of course, the breadth of Donald Trump’s victory — nearly 90 percent of U.S. counties moved right — suggests that it is very much part of this trend.
The crisis of democratic government then, is actually a crisis of progressive government. People seem to feel that they have been taxed, regulated, bossed around and intimidated by left-of-center politicians for decades — but the results are bad and have been getting worse.
New York, where I live, and Florida, where I often visit, provide an interesting contrast.
They have comparable populations — New York with about 20 million people, Florida with 23 million. But New York state’s budget is more than double that of Florida ($239 billion vs. roughly $116 billion). New York City, which is a little more than three times the size of Miami-Dade County, has a budget of more than $100 billion, which is nearly 10 times that of Miami-Dade. New York City’s spending grew from 2012 to 2019 by 40 percent, four times the rate of inflation. Does any New Yorker feel that they got 40 percent better services during that time?
What do New Yorkers get for these vast sums, generated by the highest tax rates in the country? (If you are well off in New York City, you pay nearly as much in income taxes as in London, Paris or Berlin — without free higher education or health care.) New York’s poverty rate is higher than Florida’s. New York has a slightly lower rate of homeownership and a much higher rate of homelessness. Despite spending more than twice as much on education per student, New York has educational outcomes — graduation rates, eighth-grade test scores — that are roughly the same as Florida’s.
There’s more at the link, but the above excerpt, particularly the FLA-NY compare/contrast, says pretty much everything you need to know. Regarding my post title, the aformentioned excerpt is from a WaPo article, and I couldn’t resist the temptation to stand their shitty little motto on its empty head.
(Via Ace)
- Entries
Let it die, democracy is just mob rule and the sociopaths are very effective using it.
They have a much higher rate of homelessness despite the fact that FL has a weather advantage over NY in that respect.
🙂
When I become a professional homeless person I plan to winter in Florida, and summer in Maine…
Maybe stop in the Carolina’s for spring and fall 🙂