“The alliance between the modern welfare state and the modern warfare state is based on the legitimacy of an ever-growing federal government: an ever-growing federal deficit, ever-increasing tax rates, and the permanence of the Federal Reserve. The liberals do not want to change the prevailing political system, and neither do the conservatives. The liberals want their welfare checks to go out, and so to the conservatives. The liberals want to push foreign nations around, and so to the conservatives. This is why taxes will not go down, the Federal Reserve will not be abolished, and the gold coin standard will not be re-established until such time as the Great Default bankrupts the federal government.”
http://www.garynorth.com/public/10910.cfm