Fear and Loathing of the Future

The "Anti Economist" column in Harper's is always a worthy read, as is the whole magazine.
In the most recent issue the columnist Jeff Madrick noted that 218 out of 233 Republican House members have signed a pledge to vote against taxes regardless of circumstances. They signed this myopic pledge at the urging of one Grover Norquist, who makes his living it seems by getting others to change centuries.
I wonder how many of these pledge signers also claim to want to run the government "like a business." Perhaps they know of a business that can never, no matter what, raise prices, and the utopia it occupies. Every single one of them, along with the so called "self made" success characters, becomes dependent on government the instant their car tires touch a paved road. Paved roads wear out. Paving costs more money now than then, and will cost more in future. But some think they would prefer gravel roads. They come from gerrymandered cocoons into which no breath of modern thinking can penetrate.
The reason I think is fear and loathing of the future. And part of the fear just may be that the idea of being returned home from Washington to the lousy places they come from.. Can't say I blame them.