Last week, voters in the U.K. went to the polls to elect a new parliament. On the surface, this vote was an ordinary parliamentary election, but beneath the surface, this was a referendum on two very important topics affecting the western world:
1) the battle between capitalism and socialism;
2) the ordinary citizen’s distrust of the global political elite.
In the case of the former, U.K. voters soundly chose a more market oriented candidate, Boris Johnson, and his conservative allies, over the extreme left socialist candidate. Along the way, voters also sent a commanding message to the political elite, on both sides of the aisle, that there is no longer tolerance for politicians who promise prosperity and safety, in return for reduced civil liberties and free will.
In the U.S. and the U.K., voters are fed up with politicians who have been chosen since childhood to be “leaders,” only to have their charm and promises lead to a lower standard of living for the average citizen, and now, with less right to self determination.
Perhaps no two leaders exemplify the revolt against the establishment more so than Johnson and Trump, and this is why Johnson’s success last week is a warning shot to establishment leaders in both the Democratic and Republican party that 2020 will be about returning self determination back to the people via lower taxes, more free global trade, and wiser government spending.
For Rhode Island’s leaders, it’s also a warning that younger generations will not continue to invest in a state government, via higher taxes, and tolerate poor public services. As any resident of North Kingstown (or the surrounding communities) knows well, state and local government services are below minimum expectations for quality and customer service in most critical areas, while public expenditures on said services continue to rise, as leaders promise that it’s in our best interest to continue to foot the bill for underwhelming service.
What Johnson has shown us her in the U.S. is that the days of tolerating elite double talk, with little to show for it, are over, both inside and outside of Rhode Island/