Sautet on Kennedy

Over at the Austrian Economists blog Frederic Sautet writes on Senator Edward Kennedy. He says,

Instead of worshiping politicians, we should wake up to the current situation. Since the fall of the Roman Empire, nations and civilizations have fallen because of two things: fiscal recklessness and inflation. This is because bad policies are rarely reversed. Instead, politicians attempt to mitigate the consequences of their stupidity through fiscal expansion and inflation. The U.S. was born under the “Old Time Fiscal Religion,” as Richard Wagner and James Buchanan put it. For decades, fiscal prudence and low inflation were the mantra. Not anymore. So let’s be honest, while Senator Kennedy may have been well-intentioned (and I leave that to God to judge), he has promoted the expansion of government and the establishment of socialist policies in the United States. With others, he has pushed ideas that have made fiscal and individual irresponsibility acceptable. Is this what being a true American hero is about?

It may not be what a true American (or New Zealand) hero is about, but it is, sadly, what being a politician is all about.