Election 2010

Today is election day and if you believe the news commentary, this is one of the most important elections in our history and one that will have more impact on our future than any election in years. I remember that being said about virtually every election since I was conscious of elections. And yet the difference between the candidates who are running is, in most cases, trivial. The parties quibble about a few percentage points either way on the tax rates. And they feud a bit over what services government should provide and over what mandates government should require of individuals and business. But real substantive disputes don’t exist because both parties agree on the fundamental issue that governments have the power to control people’s lives and that governments provide benefits and transfer funds from one group of individuals to another (even the tea party, supposedly so radical, never attacks the largest transfers of all- Social Security and Medicare). The arguments then are not about whether, but about how much and to whom. So by all means vote. Just don’t expect things to change very much.