Why we must keep an eye on American politics

Over on Conservative Home Tim Montgomerie writes:

There are always lessons we can learn from American politics but it is dangerous to import techniques and trends without thinking.

Good point Tim, I'll try not to.

Tim lists three lessons taught by the US over the last few years - that zero tolerance crime policy works, that the free enterprise low tax US economy outperforms ours and that innovative welfare reform improves lives and cuts bills.

I am well aware of all these things. I am in favour of all of them.

The point I have been making is a different one. It is that conservatives in the US are facing a difficult political climate and some are dealing with it by rethinking their message and the way they express it.

This is true even on tax.

We've always kept a close eye on US political trends over here and we shouldn't miss this one.

Comments

[James]

Do you really support Cameron's criminalization of failure? He refused to be drawn on whether unemployed people would be forced to wear bright uniforms as they collect garbage - he said it should be left to the private companies running the scheme.
So to David Cameron, it is a perfectly acceptable state of affairs if we treat the unemployed EXACTLY as we treat criminals. Former professionals who collapsed out of life through depression and fail to find work (my brother falls into this category, through no deficiency of effort) should be reduced to garbage collectors, indistinguishable from criminals being punished.
I'm not particularly left-wing, but I really think this is disgusting. The weakest and most vulnerable are being criminalized and degarded. Under Cameron's policy, my brother will not be allowed to use his skills in non-menial community work. The intention is not to harness his graduate's abilities - the intention is to subject the unemployed to the modern equivalent of the stocks.

[Dave]

Isn't the case for zero tolerance far from proven? Steven Levitt of Freakonomics fame casts serious doubt on its role in the cleaning up of New York. And there are some other serious critiques of the theory.... check out the wikipedia entry on "broken windows" for links.