The Return of Louis XVI

The Young American President Repeats History


The hunting gardens of Versailles...


...Louis XVI's massive palace.

Here's an Article [click to read] in Political Mavens that I must confess I have been waiting for, Michael LeGault [click for bio] has written a great comparison of Barack Obama to the French monarch. You probably remember Louis XVI's wife, Marie Antoinette. When advised that the peasants had no bread, she is reported to have said: "let them eat cake."

"The president’s fondness for a party has been likened to the Roman Emperor Nero’s questionable emergency response tactics. A more fitting comparison is to Louis XVI, his wife Marie Antoinette and their court at the Palace of Versailles in pre-revolutionary France around 1788. Like the United States today, France in the time of the Louis XVI was saddled with enormous debt. The Seven Years War against Britain had depleted the treasury, and the fiscal crisis was compounded by the extravagant, often gluttonous lifestyle of the King and his attending aristocrats. In order to finance the deficit, a 5 percent tax was levied on all revenues. When further tax increases were blocked by parlements, the King and the French government enacted a policy of taking out large international loans. Sound familiar?"

Bridge to Nowhere?

It's Really a $790 Billion Tunnel to France!


Tunnel to France...

Here's how to think of the stimulus money. If it were truly just wasted spending like the famous 'bridge to nowhere' it would be bad enough, but this project has a definite destination in mind. Consider the healthcare bureaucracy that was inserted in the bill no one had time to actually read. The foundations for nationalized healthcare and rationing were in the bill.

Or consider the money for new cars for bureaucrats and new buildings for bureaucrats. Money for ACORN is included to make sure everyone is looking to the government.

But here's where it might get interesting. A lot of France's really good infrastructure is actually built and managed by private companies. True the government acts as a giant procurement agency but it has come to the top that government does a pretty lousy job of actually running these things. We're actually following a European model in how the Dulles Toll Road is run. A private contractor operates the collection of tolls.

Oh, by the way, they did elect Nicolas Sarkozy!

So here we are beginning our trip through the tunnel to France. It's a long journey from here, which is good. The scenery never changes as we press on deeper and deeper. There is plenty of time for American ingenuity to kick in and decide the trip isn't all its cracked up to be. In other words we may be able to abandon this project before the whole sum is spent!

We Might Even Have a Revolution! Didn't we sever our ties with Britian over less?

It's a nice thought. Personally I like riding in a 747 a whole lot better.


The scenery never changes...