Money for Nothing

Michael Barone knows more about the American political culture than just about anyone. He has some observations about our current administration:

Anyone who has spent much time in Chicago knows the city has impressive civic and business leaders, talented and cultured people who creatively support charities (not always effectively - ed.) and the arts. But they also play team ball. . .

To some it may seem anomalous that Obama, who began his Chicago career as a Saul Alinsky-type community organizer, should have taken to the Chicago Way. But Alinsky's brand of community organizing is very Chicagocentric.

It assumes that there will always be a Machine that you can complain about and that if you make a big enough fuss it will have to respond. And that the Machine can always get more plunder from the private sector.

The problem with Obama's Chicago Way is that Chicago isn't America. The Chicago Way works locally because there is an America out there that ultimately pays for it. But who will pay for an America run the Chicago Way?

Read the whole thing.

Of course, the "Chicago Way" just makes the "money for nothing" mindset already well-established among our political classes that much worse. For example, there are now TWO AMERICAS:   Federal workers make twice as much as the people who pay their salaries. Three trillion in pension underfunding?  Aren't these supposed to be the people who care about "the children" whom they are making slaves to debt? Generosity with other people's money hurts people who are often "out of sight, out of mind" to the generous politicians handing out the largesse. And who could be more invisible than future taxpayers?

Also via Instapundit, a takeoff on this music video (with which people more "in touch with the popular culture" than me were probably familiar) "I want my MTV.". The PolitiZoid version of Money for Nothing may be a bit hard on Nancy "We have to pass the bill so you can find out what's in it" Pelosi and her provocative giant gavel, but Harry Reid's kind of cute.  "Oh, Nancy Pe-lo-si"   "Director: Rahm Emanuel" Heh.

The power of denial and the end of trust:    "I want my MTV."

On a lighter note, Weird Al had some fun with the same paean to decadence in:   Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies
He's very good at what he does.

Meanwhile, how's that "Money for Nothing" mindset working out for Greece?  Or for California?