Pyramids

The West has charted a course for its destruction and appears incapable of changing course as the doom becomes ever more obvious.  Having instituted programs such as Social Security and Medicare, the government unwittingly created a disincentive to have children.  Back in the old days, a kid was an extra worker on the farm.  Later still, the children that survived to adulthood became the caregivers for their parents.  Once the government promised to make other people's children pay for your retirement, the benefit of having children greatly diminished.  The fertility rates among Western countries have fallen while life expectancy has skyrocketed.  There are no longer enough workers to support the ever-expanding pool of government-funded retirees.  What to do?  There were two choices: wean the people off the unsustainable model because it is a Ponzi scheme or import more workers to take up the slack for a generation or two.  Without exception, every Western country has chosen the second option.  Now, decades into the process, the system remains unsustainable but is now made worse by vast populations that have not adopted Western values.  In Europe, these populations are strongly opposed to Western values.  These government pyramid schemes can continue for a bit longer, certainly long enough for the current batch of politicians to secure their futures while dooming the nations they 'represent.'

 

As I say, the doom is obvious and becomes more obvious with each passing year.  In Europe, fringe parties are gaining traction because the mainstream parties have steered the Titanic into the iceberg and are responding with nothing more significant that rearranging the deck chairs.  In the United States, the situation is sufficiently dire that Donald Trump is trouncing the mainstream version of the Republican Party.  Even among the Democrats, a socialist is providing far more of a challenge to Hillary Clinton than would ever have been thought possible.  Years of frustration with the government has led to this and it is only going to get worse.  No matter who wins, much of the country is going to be furious.  Expect another massive wave election in 2018 and more rumblings of Article V Conventions by the States.  It is going to get bumpier and more contentious as more power migrates to Washington.  Supreme Court nominations are going to be near impossible now that it has assumed the role of culture police - gay marriage in all 50 states, voters be damned.  Fasten your seatbelts!