A New (and most interesting) Blog

NewPopulationBomb by historian  Jack Goldstone whose Revolution and Rebellion in the Modern World was an enlightening read.

Today's post, La Grande Revolution, Encore is quite pertinent for modern America.

To wit:  Is there a lesson here for today, or is this ancient history?   In fact, the parallels are remarkable.   Just as today, the elites in the US are confusing their self-interest with principles of freedom from taxation, when in fact the critical principle is that the country must have sufficient revenues to cover its necessary expenses and service its debts.  As to the deficit, conservatives blame it on Obama just as 18^th century French elites blamed their deficit on the king. But just as in France, the greater portion of the the long-term deficit in the US is being driven by population change, which the President cannot affect.  The number of Americans over 65 will double over the next forty years, from 50 to 100 million.  The increases in medicare and social security costs that this will bring cannot be covered by simply cutting spending unless we decide to toss out these programs altogether.