There is an infuriating but effective method of political campaigning employed by the British left which goes as follows:<\/p>\n
1. Labour wins election in 2005. Raises spending on X in 2006, 2008, and 2009.<\/p>\n
2. Labour lose power in 2010, Tories come in.<\/p>\n
3. Tories propose cutting spending on X in 2012, which would take spending back to 2008 levels.<\/p>\n
4. Lefties scream that spending is being slashed to where it was in 1882, conjuring up visions of starving children in Dickensian workhouses.<\/p>\n
It’s known as the ratchet mechanism whereby spending can only ever be increased but never, ever reduced. The middle classes – who are enormous beneficiaries of state expenditure – suck it up without question, not even realising the expenditure will drop only to 2008 levels (and things weren’t that<\/em> bad then).<\/p>\n There’s a similar thing taking place now in the US, only it’s not to do with spending. Yesterday I came across this superb video explaining the phenomenon of Mattress Girl, the Columbia University student who falsely claimed<\/a> she was raped and responded to his non-prosecution by dragging a mattress around campus. It is 47 minutes long but worth watching if you wish to understand the Title IX row that’s going on in America.<\/p>\n