Crybullies …

We should have expected this. 

All those precious little snowflakes – protected against every little hurt by adoring parents – are now in college and they’re having trouble adjusting. Apparently not everybody else recognizes how fragile they are and how easily their feelings can be hurt.

College was supposed to be a special place for these snowflakes. After they were ferried to all their lacrosse, soccer, swimming and other classes, and did their humanitarian projects to buff up their college apps, college was sure to welcome them with open, caring arms.  They expected a continuation of life with Mommy and Daddy – a place where everyone obsessed over them and their wishes; a place where never was heard a discouraging word.   

But they encountered mean people; people who disagreed with them.  So they did what always worked with Mommy and Daddy – they threw a tantrum. 

And just like Mommy and Daddy, college administrators bent to their wishes. College administrators made special provisions for these precious snowflakes so they wouldn’t have to hear hurtful words, see things that offended them, or made them think troubling thoughts. 

The snowflakes would now have the freedom to say or do whatever they liked, shut down anyone they didn’t like, and prevent others from violating their safe spaces.  And the college would back them up no matter what – whether that meant firing instructors, cancelling commencement speakers or events, or anything else they demanded for whatever real or perceived reason.     

Now the snowflakes are in charge.  Watch what you say or do or they’ll come after you. Freedom of speech is now entirely in their hands; they’ll decide what anyone can say or do.  And woe unto anyone who dares violate their safe spaces, which seem to be expanding all the time.   

Recently a college Yoga class instructor found that her classes were not being offered again because Yoga originated in India which some students thought had a history of repression of other cultures. So forget about stretching and meditation – that’s colonialism.   

A professor at another school who told students that it was okay to dress up at Halloween was figuratively dragged over the coals for being culturally and racially insensitive. 

One college’s administrative staff that staged a group photo dressed in sombreros and serapes to promote a Mexican food night on campus was forced to issue a heartfelt apology to the entire student body for disrespecting students of Mexican heritage. 

It’s bad enough that we all have to deal with the “black lives matter” morons who discover racism at every turn.  Now we have to deal with a “privileged, wealthy snowflakes matter” movement, too.  They both have much in common – manufactured outrage over minor events, an appalling disregard for facts,  intolerance of other points of view, and a “me-me” attitude that their feelings are far more important than anyone else’s rights.    

One difference is that the black lives matter folks aren’t worried about what happens next. Protesting is their full-time job; they’re at it all hours of the day or night, seven days a week.  That doesn’t leave a lot of other time for gainful employment, even if they were interested.  

Which they aren’t -- until minimum wage is raised to at least $15 an hour.        

But the snowflakes … ah, that’s a different matter. They’ve been brought up to believe the world is just waiting to fulfill their every desire. They fully expect after graduation to land a high-paying job, have great life-work balance, and plenty of time to produce their own family of precious snowflakes. Their parents have fed them this delusion all their lives.

Reality is really going to suck for many of them.  A major in Feminine Dance Theory or French Poets of the 16^th Century won’t bring big bucks in the job market.  They’ll encounter people who tell jokes and say things that offend them.  And Mommy and Daddy – and indulgent college administrators – are not always going to be there to kiss away all the boo-boos.     

In short they’ll have to deal with real life outside the cocoon on their college campus they’ve managed to construct through intimidation. The world outside their campus doesn’t give a rat’s ass about their feelings, and couldn’t care less about respecting their “safe place.”   

I can’t wait for these pampered pansies to get out in the real world, in real jobs, where their feelings are their problem and no one else’s concern.  I can’t wait for them to tell their coworkers and their boss the rules for their personal safe place, and what will and will not be permitted in it. I’d also like to be there the first time they try throwing a tantrum at work to get their way. 

Then again, none of those things might happen. They might never get a real job in the real world.  Maybe they’ll just stay on their parents’ couch after they graduate. 

That can be their safe place. 

“Immigration without assimilation is invasion.”

Bobby Jindal – the son of immigrants himself – recently said that. 

To be honest, that crystalizes the entire immigration debate. Especially over Obama's decision to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees to come to America

Many European countries have allowed unfettered immigration by groups that have absolutely no intention of assimilating into their new home. These immigrants will never learn the host country’s language, or adapt to its customs and laws or its culture. 

Instead, they will try to establish their own enclave, separate and distinct from the rest of that society. They’ll eagerly accept the generosity of the host, but insist that they are not bound by the rules that govern others in that nation. 

By Jindal’s astute description they are no longer immigrants – they are invaders.   

Does anyone really believe the hordes of “Syrian refugees” won’t fit that description?  Does anyone actually think what’s happened with Muslim enclaves in London, Belgium, Paris, and even in our own country won’t happen with these people as well? 

Look, I understand that we are a nation of immigrants.  I also know that many immigrant waves first clustered together here to bridge their transition into our society.  The Jews, the Irish, the Poles, the Swedes, the Italians and the Cubans all did that.  Over time, however, the overwhelming majority assimilated into the American experiment by learning our language, our laws and customs, and our culture, and becoming a part of American society.  They never gave up their heritage – they didn’t have to – but they adapted to fit in. 

There will always be places in America where people still speak Yiddish, German, Polish, Italian, Spanish or Hindi at home or among themselves. That’s part of who they are.   

On Calle Ocho in the Little Havana part of downtown Miami, for example, most of the store signs are in Spanish and English; that’s not required but simply makes good business sense – the shopkeepers don’t want to rule anyone out. Most of the people there are Cuban immigrants or the descendants of Cuban immigrants, yet are fiercely patriotic about the America in which they live.

Much of that is because many Cubans came here to escape Castro. America was a safe haven for them, and they never forgot that we opened our doors to them.  So when they arrived they were thankful for the opportunities and freedom America offered.  Today’s descendants of those Cubans may speak Spanish among themselves, but are also proud to speak English and be a vital, law-abiding part of American society.

I don’t see that happening with the proposed new wave of Muslim refugees.   

If recent history is any guide, the Syrian refugees will segregate themselves wherever they land and will not even try to assimilate.  That’s what they’ve been doing in Europe for years; I can’t imagine they’ll act any different if they come here. 

The Muslim enclaves In Europe have become hotbeds of hostility toward local law enforcement and major recruiting areas for would-be jihadists. Expect the same here, only now there won’t be an ocean between us and them, and once here, they’ll have the same freedom to move about the country every American enjoys.  So if they want to travel to, say, Times Square on New Year’s Eve, or Boston on July 4^th, there’s nothing to stop them and no one will be tracking them. 

Now, Obama and his spokespuppets say the majority of Syrian refugees we would be welcoming to America are widows and mothers with children. 

However, almost all the footage shown by the mainstream media of the Syrian refugees doesn’t support that.  It seems to me that the vast majority of Syrian refugees appear to be young males in their late teens to mid-30s. Most look pretty damn fit and well-clothed for having fled a war-torn country on foot and travelling across multiple countries.

In fact, they look like men who should be wearing a uniform and defending their land and families back home.  I don’t see a lot of guys who would flunk a military physical.  Nor do I see a lot of widows or mothers with kids in their midst. 

Next, the Obama administration says anyone opposed to dropping 10,000 of these supposedly destitute refugees into our towns and cities with no advance notice is heartless and cruel, and acting contrary to American values.

I think there’s one American value that trumps all others – keeping Americans safe.  We may be the most compassionate and generous nation in the world, but let’s not be stupid. 

These people have no desire to assimilate.  That makes them invaders. 

If Obama forces us to open our doors to these invaders he will have cemented his role as the only American President to commit treason.   

Downplaying the threat of Islamic terrorists

As expected the official line from Obama and Democrats is that the terrorist attacks in Paris were done by a mere handful of extremists acting on their own perverted interpretation of Islam. And we should not overreact to the actions of a few misguided individuals.

Soon we’ll also hear again that Islam is a “religion of peace.”  The bigger threat is global warming, not Islamic terrorism, they’ll add.  Wait for it.  

While the rest of the civilized world is still reeling from ISIS bringing down a Russian airliner killing hundreds of innocent people, and terrorists in Paris killing 129 more, Obama and his administration keep downplaying the threat here.

I do not understand why. I’m a reasonably intelligent guy. I follow the news.  Maybe it’s naiveté on my part, but I always presume our government officials do the same. 

After all the barbarity inflicted on innocents across the globe by ISIS, the Taliban and their affiliates like Boko Haram, how can anyone conclude these groups aren’t a threat to us? They’ve proven in France, Spain, the UK and elsewhere they have the means to strike anywhere. They recently claimed their next target is D.C.-- and Obama still won’t acknowledge the threat or why they’re doing this?  

The threat is real and much bigger than ISIS.  It is based on Islamic theology.  The terror attacks are being done exclusively by Muslims – not Christians, Jews, Hindus or any other faith. 

It’s all Muslims, all the time, of all nationalities, and upon all nationalities. That’s intentional.   

The only mystery is why Obama refuses to acknowledge that Western Civilization as a whole – us included – and other faiths are under attack by well-funded, well-organized radical Islamists who want to kill us all to fulfill an apocalyptic vision.

Hell, he can’t even call them radical Islamists. 

Obama knows what’s driving the Islamic terrorists and what their grand plan is.  Yet he continues to act as if ignoring all this will make it go away on its own. That’s his “plan.”

Even after the Europeans determined that at least one of the recent Paris terrorists migrated through Greece on a Syrian passport, he still wants to proceed with allowing 10,000 Syrian “refugees” to settle in this country.  Smart, right? 

Then again, he also blamed the slaughter of our diplomats in Benghazi on a video, claimed that suicide bombers arose from lack of employment opportunities, and referred to ISIS as the “JV.” On the same day that terrorists attacked Paris, he was on earlier to proclaim that ISIS was now “contained” and was actually weakening.

I guess that was comforting to the families of the 129 people killed – and over 200 wounded – in Paris later that same day. Nothing to worry about.  Obama says so.   

In simplest terms, the world is experiencing an Islamic Crusade, using today’s weaponry and technology coupled with levels of barbarity on a scale rarely seen in modern times.  Radical Islamists want to make the entire world their holy land and roll the clock back a few centuries.    

And we’re not just dealing with a mere handful of bad actors; we are confronted by tens of thousands of well-armed fighters and untold numbers of sleeper cells hiding among us, all admired and supported by millions of Muslims around the world. 

That’s right – they have broad support among millions of Muslims worldwide. Remember the Muslims dancing in the streets after 9/11?  It wasn’t just in the Middle East. Remember the jubilation among the Iranians – the same people we are now helping to build nuclear weapons?

Their hatred of us – and anyone else who doesn’t accept their version of 7^th Century Islam – goes way beyond our support of Israel, a stupid movie, lack of job opportunities, or global warming. They despise our core values and our tolerance of other religions, cultures, and beliefs. 

The radical Islamists’ belief system accepts slavery, pedophilia, rape, slaughter of innocents, and destruction of whatever they consider idolatry – whether that’s ancient temples or monuments from past civilizations. We don’t and that offends them. 

Do all Muslims believe as they do? No.

But enough of them do to put the wind behind the sails of these barbarians. Not just Middle Eastern Muslims, but Asian Muslims, African Muslims, European Muslims, and yes, American Muslims. Muslims from everywhere are flocking to enlist in this jihad or providing financial and other support for the cause wherever they are and however they can.     

Including murdering innocent people here and abroad. 

Make no mistake; millions of Muslims around the globe applaud what the radical Islamists are doing. To pretend it makes a difference that there are more “good Muslims” than “bad Muslims” to marginalize what’s happening is as stupid as thinking because there were more “good Germans” than “bad Germans” Europeans had nothing to fear from Hitler and the Nazis.

We know how that turned out.   

Obama keeps saying the terrorists have strayed from the “true” teachings of Islam – a religion of peace. As he was raised a Muslim, had a Muslim father, spent time in a Muslim country as a child where he attended Muslim schools, he knows that’s simply not true.

In fact, it’s utter bullshit. 

The terrorists’ Islam is not a new interpretation; if anything it’s the most traditional, essentially unchanged from the 7^th Century.  So Islamic terrorists today are just returning to Islam’s roots – a war against all other belief systems, where one either converts to Islam or dies.         

Unlike many other faiths, the original goal of Islam was conquest and subjugation of any and all non-believers.  Peace would only happen after an apocalyptic battle between the faithful and the infidels concluded and Mohammed returned victorious to rule the Earth. Then there would be peace because all the infidels would either be converted to Islam or dead. 

So all the barbarous acts we see have but one purpose: to draw all the nonbelievers into a massive, final war for all the marbles. The radical Islamists want us all to be so appalled and horrified by their atrocities that we can’t resist an all-out war with them. When that happens they expect all the other Muslims in the world to rally to their righteous cause.    

And they’ll win, fulfill the prophecy, and Islam will triumph. 

Obama knows this is their grand plan. It’s not a secret.   

It’s us or them.  Those are the table stakes.  So why does Obama keep soft-pedaling the threat?  He knows the attacks will continue and why they will likely escalate in ferocity. He knows precisely who the terrorists are and the common link they share. He knows the only real answer is to wipe out today’s terrorists and intimidate any would-be future terrorists. 

Yet he doesn’t seem to connect the dots.  Or maybe he simply puts his campaign promises and his “legacy” above the security and safety of all of us, and his role as leader of the free world. 

I’m starting to believe that’s the case. 

There’s also a growing realization even among his own party and the media that he has no plan to handle the threats.  He is increasingly peevish when asked for specifics.

It’s finally becoming obvious to all – including many of his supporters – that he is woefully incompetent, not just in managing domestic issues where he’s traditionally gotten a pass, but especially on the world stage where the United States must lead by example. He seems incapable, intellectually and emotionally, to deal with the barbarians at our doors. 

To defeat ISIS and their ilk, we cannot do it alone.  We need other countries to join with us, including moderate Muslim countries, but they won’t do that unless we show leadership.  If we aren’t in the fight full force, we can’t expect anyone else to join us. That means American boots on the ground, casualties, and unleashing the full weight of the American military to kill the terrorists wherever they are.   

We can’t fight that war at arm’s length and with zero collateral damage – which seems to be driving our current rules of engagement, according to military experts.  And also why we aren’t having any success.  We need a leader ready and willing to acknowledge that the threats are real and our very existence depends on killing – not negotiating with or accommodating --  the radical Islamists wherever they are using any means at our disposal.

Obama’s not that guy.   

Blue-state economics …

Here in Pennsylvania we have an interesting situation:  a newly-elected liberal Democrat governor and a more conservative Republican-dominated legislature. 

Make no mistake – this has become a solid blue Democrat state in recent years.  However, outside of the two major metros anchoring the eastern and western parts of the state, the rest of the state is pretty conservative.  Democrat strategist James Carville once derided Pennsylvania as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Appalachia in between.

The “in between” often votes in Republicans as state legislators; the big cities and many of their  suburbs reliably vote in Democrats. 

In statewide and national elections the density of votes cast in the Philly and Pittsburgh metros – legal or bogus – increasingly outweighs the rest of the state. Sometimes the votes from these areas exceed the number of registered voters on the books but no matter.   

Voting in other parts may be different but in Philly inhabitants of vacant lots and cemeteries routinely cast ballots, and overwhelmingly for Democrats.  If you’re a Democrat and die here you want to be buried in Philly; that way you can remain politically active for years to come.   

But back to our current situation. 

Our new governor wants to hike taxes to pay for his campaign promises of more spending on education (read: bailing out the Philly schools); expanding social programs even more (read: more free stuff), repairing infrastructure (read: union jobs); and pumping more into state pensions (read: paying off public sector employees).  Oh, and he also promised to reduce property taxes. 

He’s a typical tax and spend liberal.  Practically everything he’s proposed is targeted to reward unions, public sector employees, fiscally mismanaged cities and townships, top-heavy failing school systems, and people who would rather vote for a living than work for a living.    

To pay for all this, he wants a 5% severance tax on natural gas and oil drilling, a hike of another buck on every pack of cigarettes, an increase in the personal income tax from 3.07% to 3.7%, and an increase in the 6% state sales tax to 6.6% for every place outside of Philly and Pittsburgh (Philly and Pittsburgh already have higher sales taxes) while also including more things – like professional services – subject to the sales tax. Republicans in the legislature have balked.   

Consequently we haven’t had a state budget for months.   

Republicans wanted to privatize the state-store system and get out of the liquor business – an extremely popular idea among just about everybody except the union that represents the state store workers.  Republicans also wanted to reform our out-of-control public sector pension program. They also wanted to prevent a severance tax on oil and gas drilling – one of the few growth industries for the state.

So here we are.  The governor has vetoed all the Republican plans.  The Republicans have rejected all the governor’s plans. 

But now there’s a breakthrough. The governor is putting aside the severance tax and the Republicans have tentatively agreed to increase the state sales tax to 7.25%.

Wait a minute.  The governor was asking for a sales tax increase to 6.6%.  Yet the Republicans agreed to a sales tax of 7.25%?  And that’s a good deal? 

They are still negotiating, so nothing’s final. But this alone should give you some idea of how blue-state economics work. Once the posturing is done, our taxes still go up.  

We’re all screwed.  At least, all of us who still work for a living. 

And in a blue state, that number gets smaller and smaller all the time.       

Ban the box …

This has been gaining momentum. 

Politicians want to eliminate the box on job applications that ask whether the applicant has a criminal conviction.  Obama has told Federal agencies to eliminate that check box; several states and many big cities like Philly also want to see it disappear.

Supporters of “ban the box” legislation claim it’s prejudicial. They believe a criminal record shouldn’t automatically disqualify someone from a job. 

Well of course it’s prejudicial. It does discriminate against people with a criminal conviction. 

There’s a remarkably simple solution:  don’t commit a crime in the first place. The probability of being convicted for a crime you didn’t commit is very small. Problem solved. 

We all see where “ban the box” is going. It’s right there with Obama’s decision to start releasing prisoners he feels shouldn’t still be doing time. It also follows the movement to overturn state laws that deprive convicted felons from the right to vote. 

Why is this suddenly such a big deal?  Speaking frankly, it has to do with race and politics 

We have a Presidential election coming up next year.  Democrats are worried about turning out their black base, especially since it’s likely their candidate will be a rich white woman with somewhat dicey credentials when it comes to black issues.   

Democrats need blacks that turned out for Obama to come out for Hillary.  Obama got upwards of 95% of the black vote when he ran; Hillary is a horse of a different color. She’s not black nor does she have the charisma Obama displayed on the campaign trail.   

In addition to worrying about his legacy, Obama has been criticized by black leaders for not doing enough for blacks even though blacks voted for him in overwhelming numbers. He hasn’t helped blacks with jobs.  He hasn’t done much about systemic black poverty. 

To connect the dots, consider this: Blacks are disproportionately represented in our prisons, accounting for almost 40% of prisoners while less than 14% of the general population.

With such a high percentage of blacks of all ages in the penal system – on probation, on parole, or still incarcerated – “ban the box” and restoring felons’ rights to vote have a lot of appeal to the black community. These also have great appeal to liberals who think our criminal justice system is inherently unfair – letting rich bankers and swindlers off the hook while doling out draconian sentences for “victimless” crimes like drug use and possession.   

Now, it’s actually pretty hard to get convicted of a crime anymore, especially a felony and especially if someone is a first-time offender. Prosecutors routinely try to plead-down cases wherever possible particularly in big cities to save time and clear their caseloads.

Felony possession charges get knocked down to misdemeanors all the time except in the most grievous cases. First-timers often get off with a warning or probation at worst.  In Philly, they don’t even get that -- there’s simply a fine for possession of small amounts of pot.  

Instead of trying to combat crime – or preventing crime – liberal politicians now want to do the opposite:  minimize the consequences of committing a crime.  In doing so, they are attempting to make criminal conduct an acceptable thing.  They are taking away one of the few remaining reasons not to commit a crime in the first place:  a criminal record. 

“Banning the box” is being presented as a way to give people who’ve made a mistake a second chance.  Well, there are mistakes – like driving without your headlights on.  But committing a home invasion is not a mistake.  Nor is embezzlement, arson, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, or rape.  Nor is dealing heroin.  

These are felonies for good reason. When someone is convicted of a felony, it means a judge and possibly a jury have weighed the facts and determined based on the evidence that someone committed a serious crime, not just a mistake.   

As far as “second chances,” the reality is many people with criminal records have already had a second chance.  And a third chance.  And maybe a fourth chance.  Many started as a juvenile delinquent – excuse me, what Loretta Lynch and our Justice Department now call a “justice-involved youth” – and worked their way up to the big leagues. 

And now we shouldn’t hold any of that against them. 

This is insane.  And dangerous.  Would you hire a bookkeeper with a criminal record for embezzlement?  Would you hire a locksmith with a burglary conviction?  Would you allow someone with a criminal assault record to work at a nursing home? 

Apparently Obama and big-city politicians don’t see a problem with any of that. They think you shouldn’t either.

Soon you may not be able to ask about any prior convictions upfront. You will be allowed to ask in follow-up interviews, but even then, without a background check, how will you know?         

There’s an old adage among criminals that “if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.” In our new progressive world it may not matter as much.   

Creative destruction …

Innovation creates new opportunities. But it also often destroys whatever it replaces. 

This happens all the time in technology. 

DVDs made VHS tapes and players obsolete. Apple iTunes and music sharing changed how music is sold.  Online video streaming now threatens on-demand cable-TV services.  More homes are getting rid of their landlines for phone service, opting instead for Internet-based VoIP or cell phone service.

Since the rise of personal computers we’ve gone from file storage on tape cassettes (C64), to hard drives, to floppy disks, to Zip disks, to CDs, to DVDs, to USB thumb drives, and now to the cloud.  Each transition has left some manufacturers in the dust. Each transition also dramatically lowered the cost per MB stored for consumers.  

It also happens outside technology, although technology can accelerate trends.  

Newspapers took a hit from radio and then TV and now the Web. Local newspapers’ influence and profitability have waned as their circulation dropped dramatically and advertisers fled. Local print newspapers are becoming a curious anachronism, and most of their owners have yet to figure out how to make money in a digital world where most content is free.  As a result, print journalists are losing their jobs, as are pressmen, circulation managers and others tied to a business model that has failed to adapt to a changing world.

Walmart’s use of supply-chain technology allowed it to buy market share through consistently lower prices. In turn, Walmart’s lower prices and one-stop-shopping convenience have driven many small-town mom & pop stores out of business.  So, for a while, did big-box retailers.  Now online-only retailers such as Amazon are taking an increasing share of every retail sales dollar. Brick and mortar stores – including Walmart and the big-box chains – that long relied on location and low prices alone, are trying to catch up with their own hybrids of physical and online selling. 

The winners of all these changes are usually consumers. The losers are the less adaptable. 

The free market is a marvelous driver of this creative destruction. There always seems to be someone working on a new way to do something better, faster and cheaper. When they succeed consumers usually benefit, but someone else may suffer. 

It’s the purest form of economic Darwinism. It’s not the survival of the fittest, but the survival of the most adaptable to change. 

That’s not to say all creative destruction is immediately a zero-sum game. Yet in the longer term it usually is.  Someone wins; someone ultimately loses.

If you are a business on the losing end, it sucks.  If you’re a business on the winning end, it’s great – for a while, because sooner or later someone else will have the next great idea to replace the one you’re hitched to. When that next big idea hits pay dirt, you and your employees better have a backup plan or you’re all toast. You’ll be the last blacksmith in a town with no horses.   

Remember Blockbuster? CDNow? Dial-up modems?  FAX software? 8-track tapes?  Bag phones? Sony Walkman? Cassette-tape holders and CD/DVD racks?     

All gone.  All replaced with something better, faster and cheaper, or made unnecessary. 

And with their demise came job losses.

So creative destruction cuts both ways.  But it can’t be stopped. Change is inevitable, and change is often accelerated by competitive pressure and the rising cost of labor, resulting in the increased use of automation and robotics by manufacturers to cut costs, for example. 

Other times creative destruction fundamentally changes an entire industry.  In some cases, it eliminates whole classes of workers whose skills are no longer required.

Years ago there was an entire industry of highly skilled workers who manually manipulated images and artwork through such techniques as airbrushing and dot etching.  There was another industry of typesetters.  Yet another industry existed to produce “proofs” shown to a client for approval before pieces were printed.

They are all gone for the most part, replaced by graphic-design desktop software that allows designers to electronically adjust images, pour in and manipulate type, generate color PDFs for clients to approve in real time, and to produce final, print-ready files for printing.  Also gone are the people who once created “mechanicals,” drew “comps,” and operated stat cameras, as well.   

Now the same graphic-design software is cutting into the income for agencies and freelancers as more companies set up their own in-house design groups.  Change happens.   

On a separate front, the rise of the Internet and related tools means fewer commercial printers are still in business because more brochures and magazines are purely electronic as PDFs or web pages. That means fewer press operators, fewer bindery workers, and fewer print sales jobs, too. Businesses save by not printing; printers and their employees lose.   

It’s unfortunate when creative destruction costs jobs. But what’s the alternative?

Do workers have a right to jobs for which there is no longer a need?  Do businesses have an obligation to maintain workers who are not required?  Should government intervene to prevent creative destruction from harming workers? 

Progressives on the left – like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren – would say yes to all three of those questions.  After all, it’s not the workers’ fault their jobs disappeared.

But is “fault” even a relevant factor on issues like these?  Is the bigger issue not preparing for inevitable change? Whistling past the graveyard, in other words …

As much as creative destruction from innovation can be dramatically disruptive to the status quo, it rarely occurs with no warning. There are always pretty clear signs change is coming.

Amazon didn’t appear suddenly out of nowhere. Nor did Walmart.  Nor did personal computers.  Nor did online news media, desktop graphic-design software or digital printing.   Nor did FedEx, e-mail or any number of other innovations. 

There were always clues these would eventually change the way we work. 

Creative destruction only sneaks up on those who choose to ignore the signs, or think somehow they won’t be affected. 

And those who ignore its inevitability are destined to suffer the consequences.  

Locusts …

Locusts sweep into an area, devastate it and when there’s nothing left of value to them move on to another area in an unrelenting march of destruction.

That’s what’s happening in the Philadelphia suburbs and exurbs.  The same thing happened to Vermont and is now happening in New Hampshire.

I’m talking about liberal Democrats.  Their policies destroy wherever they are and then they move to get away from the mess they created, only to recreate the same mess again.  It’s like a plague of bad ideas that moves inexorably in rings outward from the source. 

Philadelphia has terrible schools, high taxes, high crime, and out-of-control spending, and – not surprisingly – a 7-1 Democrat registration advantage. 

Naturally just about anybody with the means, except for the uber rich and the politically connected, gets out of there sooner or later.  If they have school-age children it’s a no-brainer.  Where do they go after Philadelphia County?  First, they moved to Delaware County and Montgomery County. 

They’ve just about managed to bring down parts of Delaware County and Montgomery County to Philly levels. Wherever they invade, they bring higher taxes, more out-of-control spending, political corruption, and a stifling form of political correctness.  Before long taxes and the cost of living get so high they migrate further out, where they’ll restart the process.    

I think the locust analogy is apt.

Now they are trying to take over Chester County. In Chester County we enjoy low taxes, great services, and some of the top-rated schools in the state. Our county infrastructure is well-maintained and there are still large areas of open space.  Business taxes are negligible so new businesses are always coming in. Chester County also just announced that it would not be raising taxes for the third year in a row. Those are some of the reasons the county has grown so fast. 

For years Republicans have run the county, and done a pretty good job of it by holding down unnecessary spending, balancing the budget, and growing the tax base rather than raising taxes or deficit spending to fund improved services. 

The result is a very good place to live and raise kids. For now.  

That’s just too tempting a target for the locusts. They are moving in.

You can see them at Trader Joes, Costco and even Walmart pushing and shoving and bringing their bad manners and rudeness with them.  You can see them parking their oversized SUVs in handicap spots and then quickly whipping out the handicap hangtag before they sprint into the store – that is if they don’t simply decide to park in the drop-off zone or fire lane.  They’re special. 

They want to get on the local school boards so they can protect their precious little snowflakes from homework, standardized testing, objectifying, contact games, racial and ethnic insensitivity, hurtful speech, and the possibility that someone might make a mean face at them.  And of course to insure that everyone gets a trophy – and good grades – no matter what.  They also want to make certain that their kids get taught about what an unjust, prejudiced, racist and sexist nation we are and have been throughout American history, from our slave-owning founders on. 

They are also bringing their NIMBY opposition to anything that might benefit the county as a whole, whether that’s residential or business development to expand the tax base, or fences around school properties to improve student safety.  Development before they got here – including where they settled, is fine; they are opposed to any further development after they arrived. 

Figures. 

Earlier I mentioned Vermont and New Hampshire.  They offer a glimpse into our future. 

Vermont once was a somewhat rural and conservative place with low taxes.  Then out-of-staters moved in because land was cheap, the scenery was beautiful, and the taxes were very low compared to what they faced in New York or Massachusetts.  Over the years the out of staters brought their politics with them and transformed Vermont into a semi-socialist state with much higher property taxes, liberal policies and a crumbling infrastructure.  It’s where Bernie Sanders – the openly socialist Senator – came from and where he remains enormously popular. 

New Hampshire is still fighting against the tide.  The same type of out of staters – attracted by no personal income tax and no state sales tax – have been flocking to the Granite State for years and trying to bring their politics with them.  They are succeeding. 

New Hampshire towns have always relied on local property taxes for just about everything, including funding local schools, which means local schools and their expenses have traditionally been managed locally.  The bigger and increasingly liberal cities – like Concord, Manchester, and Portsmouth – have increased school expenses over the years and have lobbied for a bigger piece of the state’s education pie to cover their spending.  Now, the state Supreme Court has ruled that New Hampshire can no longer use property taxes alone to fund schools, so it’s likely that the state will need a more broad-based tax to plow more into the schools. 

Teachers unions are elated – more money from a centralized source they can lobby more effectively and efficiently than battling town by town. Bigger, vote-rich cities -- more liberal and Democrat leaning than the rest of the state -- don't have to control spending as tightly so they are pleased. 

And it’s looking more and more as if New Hampshire will finally have to enact a new state sales tax, the absence of which attracted a lot of people there in the first place. Once that’s in place expect demands for more spending to keep that sales tax rate ever rising. 

That’s what happens when the locusts move in. 

Look out, Maine.