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.