Collapse In Confidence Is A Good Thing, Not A Bad Thing

Instaglenn links to this post with verbiage suggesting it's a sign of a problem. Here's a tidbit from the original.

Both the turmoil in the financial markets and a procession of dismal new poll results point toward the same unmistakable conclusion: All of the leading figures and institutions in Washington are facing a collapse in public confidence probably unmatched since late in Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

President Obama’s approval ratings are now frequently running at 45 percent or lower—not enough to win a second term. Two recent national polls placed the approval rating for Congress near its all-time low. Consumer confidence measures are scraping lows comparable to 1992 and 1980, years that produced electoral earthquakes (and independent presidential challengers).

Admitting you have a problem is halfway to solving it, so this collapse in confidence is a good thing. The concept of centralized management of the nation is a failure. People are losing faith in Washington because they are beginning to admit there is a problem with the concept of government as savior.

Lots of money and time and effort and smart people's careers were spent on the War on Poverty to no effect. Dittos for education. The same goes true for all kinds of things. That $14T+ deficit wasn't run up by lighting the money on fire, it was spent trying to solve problems through centralized control of the nation. That's why it's a Federal debt. Of course people are losing faith in the thing. It's not working.

Figuring this out is the first step towards dealing with the consequences of trying a bad idea. It's a good thing, not a bad one.