I must admit that I haven't been rabidly fixated on the television this election cycle. Once the results seemed more or less final, I decided that I should probably evaluate the damage that had been done.
I was upset, though not particularly surprised, from the get go. Democrats won. Welcome to a federal increase in the minimum wage. The government, once more, will utilize its "right" to determine what is and is not just instead of allowing consenting adults to manage their own affairs. This will undoubtedly raise prices and give teenagers in suburbia more money with which to buy their marijuana. Some struggling families may be helped, but what of those who lose their livelihood altogether when companies close or decide to hire fewer employees?
I was not pleased. I wandered around campus that day in an emotional bubble of outrage and disgust. Then, of course, some kind soul felt fit to sympathize with me: We should have stayed the path, she surmised.
What the-! Stay the path? A Republican-dominated House and Senate delivered war, the Patriot Act and fiscal irresponsibility. Clearly, I have no love of the path. The kind soul was not amused. I was not amused. In fact, I am still not amused. However, I have discovered a glimmer of hope among the post-election debris through which I found myself crawling. The path of evil that we seem to have been following before this election required Republican control of both the houses and the executive. Perhaps the Democrat-driven path of evil also requires executive support. Perhaps evil in its entirety can be prevented! How, you may ask? Gridlock.
Under a divided government, Republicans and Democrats are pitted against each other and are often forced to agree on major legislative changes. Given this, there are likely to be fewer changes and, more importantly, fewer stupid changes. It isn't just my extraordinary logical skills that predict this - history has shown it to be true. A unified government initiated all of the major wars America was involved in during the 20th century. For all you Democrats out there, it wasn't always the Republicans - you all had your fair share of war mongering. Furthermore, government spending has increased at a rate of 5.26 percent annually under unified governments, as compared to a 1.73 percent increase under divided governments.
Just to be perfectly clear, it isn't that I am against progress. Both Republicans and Democrats propose several policies that I support. The Republicans' free trade initiatives will be sorely missed. Alternatively, it saddens me to think that Democrat-supported initiatives to weaken the power of lobbyists may not succeed. However, given the wealth of bad ideas each party seems to support, I am perfectly willing to give up a few wins in order to prevent massive losses.
And so my evaluation ends on a hopeful note. Hopefully, neither party will be able to muck things up too badly in the next two years.
Erin Wildermuth is a senior in the School of International Service and a libertarian columnist for The Eagle.
