Parties of Dependency, Parties of Responsibility

Republicans like to portray the Democratic Party as the Party of Dependency, and themselves as the Party of Responsibility. But the reality is that the Republican Party has been a party of dependency as well, only dependency on a different set of patrons.

So where is a Party of Responsibility? In today's arena there appear to be only two: the Libertarian Party and the Tea Party.

The Libertarian Party is on the ballot in almost every state, and offers candidates in most major contests in those states, some with detailed proposals for reform.

The Tea Party is not on the ballot, and although parts of it informally support or oppose candidates, mostly Republicans, their program seems to be largely limited to opposition to deficit spending and debt, without getting into the details of what to cut. Many call for cutting spending generally but recoil at cutting Social Security or Medicare, which are the programs that cannot be sustained. Never mind "adjusting" them, as some pundits, trying to avoid provoking anger, seem to propose. The numbers are clear and unavoidable. Entitlements, government pensions, and other monetary benefits will end, one way to another. The only alternatives are to end them gracefully, while there are still enough people to cover some of the dependants with personal charity, or, by delaying, cause the collapse of the world economy, which is likely to trigger global warfare, including nuclear warfare.

A lot of people are coming to realize how grim our real alternatives are, but almost no one wants to step forward and say so.