William J. Holstein

The BP Spill’s Ideological Impact
JUNE 2--

The huge, nasty BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is creating hash of the hard-right's ideological crusade against "big government." We've been hearing statements from the Tea Party and others that we have to "get government out of the economy" and we have to "prevent the socialists in the Obama administration from taking over the economy."

Well, now that there's a problem in the Gulf, even Louisana Gov. Bobby Jindal, an ardent foe of big government, is seeking federal help. Suddenly, the feds are like Big Brother who is supposed to protect Little Brother on the playground.

In my new book, as I ponder the ideological debate about our economic future, I am concluding that many of the positions taken against "industrial policy" and other actions of the federal government are really an effort to maintain the status quo of large federal support for defense, oil and agriculture. If Bobby Jindall and fellow southern governors want to see what true devastation looks like, maybe the feds ought to get rid of the $255 billion a year in farm subsidies, close military bases we don't need, scrap weapons programs in Alabama and Mississipii and generally withdraw the federal umbrella. Then all of these supposed opponents of big government would be screaming for Uncle Sam to come back.