Suddenly liberals are becoming states' rights advocates. LI, taking in the historical landscape of progressive movements, proposes "retrenching progressive legislation on the national level and re-forming it on the state level, and in bonds between states." The idea is that since the blue states generate so much more of American wealth, they end up subsidizing federal policy for the red states. So, why not put social programs in the hands of states, so that the money can be spent in places where people actually care about such things?
Well maybe, but for the moment it seems a little xenophobic in a country that hasn't really been torn asunder yet. This would basically signal the Democrats' retreat on social policy: the whole point of these programs is to help those who can't help themselves, but this would essentially write them off, at least in the red states. Is the larger goal to win ideological converts by sowing social ruin? This ends in full-fledged revolution, the secession Lawrence O'Donnell was talking about on McLaughlin the other day.
Less radical is Dan Johnson-Weinberger's common sense suggestion that states reconfigure their tax codes to drop sales taxes, which aren't subsidized by the federal government like income or property taxes are. Sounds like a good idea for Illinois... but of course, it's looking like the federal tax code is about to change pretty dramatically anyway.
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