Go west to discover the true America

9 June 2007

But in the end, when it comes down to one-on-one relationships, the folks we met in Phoenix are welcoming to the new wave of immigrants. That’s because immigrants work, and westerners are about wealth creation — building houses, shopping malls, stadia, businesses, new schools. Contrast this with most Washingtonians, who are about redistributing the wealth that others create. When people take a long view and see a pie that is growing, they have no need to fight over the crumbs. But Washington’s politicians and the lobbyists who populate K Street’s Gucci Gulch (home of thousands of lobbyists) have a short-term view. For them the pie is fixed, and their job is to rob Peter to pay Paul, who is probably planning to rob Frank, or Joe. Wealth-creation energises, redistribution saps pride. At the end of the day, when asked, ‘What did you do at the office today, Daddy?’ I can’t believe it is as satisfying to say, ‘I slipped a clause in a bill, creating a tax break for a constituent,’ as it is to answer, ‘We completed construction of 100 more homes today,’ or ‘I negotiated a favourable deal with the bank for our client.’

No trip we take is complete without a tour of the local bookstore, in this case a branch of a national chain. We expected a duplicate of the chain’s store near our Washington office. Surprise. In Washington the serious books on history and policy, and the less than serious biographies of political figures, dominate prime display space. In Phoenix, that space is devoted to religious works, the kind of books that make Washington’s politicians, journalists and others fear for the future of secular America. One more reason why Greeley (or Soule) had it right.

Irwin Stelzer is director of economic policy studies at the Hudson Institute and a columnist for the Sunday Times.