The solution, of course, is to limit the growth of government

Europe's Riots, America's Future

September 30, 2010 by Dan Mitchell

Riots and protests have swept across Europe, as populations lured into government dependency are upset that there's no longer enough money to maintain the existing level of redistribution. Here's an excerpt from a BBC report:

Tens of thousands of people from around Europe have marched across Brussels in a protest against spending cuts by some EU governments. Spain has held a general strike, with protesters in Barcelona clashing with police and torching a police car. Other protests against austerity measures have been held in Greece, Italy, the Irish Republic and Latvia. …In Greece and the Irish Republic, unemployment figures are at their highest level in 10 years, while Spain's unemployment has doubled in just three years. …Police sealed off the EU headquarters and barricaded banks and shops ahead of the protest in Brussels. It was described by unions as a day of action under the slogan "No to austerity, priority to jobs and growth".

Americans may be tempted to smugly scoff at Europe's troubles, but it's just a matter of time before the same problems afflict America. This chart is based on Congressional Budget Office projections (an optimistic "baseline" scenario and a more realistic "alternative" scenario) showing how the burden of federal government spending is about to skyrocket because of demographic changes and entitlement programs.

 

In the optimistic scenario, the federal government climbs to 45 percent of GDP. Add in state and local government, and that means the total burden of government will be about 60 percent of GDP – higher than France, Sweden, and Greece today. In the less optimistic scenario, the total burden of government will be in uncharted territory, perhaps akin to Cuba or North Korea. Needless to say, America will be convulsed by riots well before this point. 

The solution, of course, is to limit the growth of government. During the Bush-Obama years, howerver, politicians have been heading in the wrong direction.

The only bright side, at least for those who feel good when others suffer, is that Europe's welfare states will have descended into social chaos and barbarism by the time the riots start in America.