The Age of Entitlement is over.
An unexpected line running through Christopher Caldwell’s book The Age of Entitlement is how post-1960s America, high on the supply of a newly minted civil rights regime overseen by the federal bureaucracy, became a landscape ripe for unbridled government spending, easy credit, and extraordinary leniency on personal and corporate debt. I will pull on this thread—perhaps taking it one step further than Mr. Caldwell: easy money translated into easy jobs that bred entitlement not only in civic life but in corporate America, where lax job performance and permanent punting on profitability became the new normal.
In the book’s climax, Caldwell explores Ronald Reagan’s decision to cut taxes and increase spending to power the Baby Boomers. Instead of halting the bad habits of an ever-expanding list of government agencies, cutting spending and regulations, and repealing harmful laws passed by the prior generation, the Reagan Administration doubled down. The massive increase in the power of the administrative state to enforce newly-created civil rights over the course of the 20th century had economic consequences. Namely, the flood gates of easy money, unending government expansion, workless jobs, and inflated assets across public and private spheres. The federal government, along with an ever-expanding circle of industrial subsidies, corporate behemoths, and nongovernment organizations, was unwisely relied upon to be the backstop.
In the wake of these decisions, productive careers, competitive enterprise, an emphasis on innovation, and a spirit of entrepreneurship have greatly eroded in America, and the West more broadly.
Caldwell’s central observation is that what began as an expanded civic concept of rights soon morphed into a broader sense of societal entitlement—fueled by permissive monetary policy, generous government programs, and deferred financial accountability. He details how courts, legislatures, and interest groups continually escalated spending and regulation under the guise of “equal rights,” “fairness,” and “social justice” without expecting tangible returns on those investments.
The resulting culture of lax oversight and bloated budgets bled into the private sector, where many businesses realized they could access cheap capital, take on massive debt, or receive government grants with minimal performance benchmarks. All these factors spawned organizations and jobs devoid of clear objectives or measurable productivity—workless jobs built on the assumption that the free money spigot would be kept on indefinitely.
When I say free money I am referring to the climate of nearly endless capital—handed out by government printing and short-sighted donors, as well as normalized by cheap debt—flowing into enterprises and organizations without demanding tangible returns. This laissez-faire largesse enabled workless jobs—positions that existed only because of ballooning budgets rather than legitimate operational need. People filled them with minimal accountability, producing few measurable outputs and operating under the belief that their salaries were perpetually guaranteed. In a word: entitlement.
Just as the Age of Entitlement saw the erosion of the constitutional order, making the central government the policemen of American social life, it promulgated the New Deal monetary regime as the life source of the economy. It should not surprise us that legions of people filled the ranks of agencies, organizations, and corporations who were beholden to that bloated behemoth of a regime, forming like barnacles on its sides.
We should therefore welcome the fact that the Age of Entitlement is drawing to a close. And it begins now with a death rattle of panic.
The financial well drying up (or being boarded up) will set every enterprise—public or private—with the task of justifying its continued investment. Federal employees in the public sector affected by cuts are protesting in outrage as if their civil rights are being violated. Professionals affected by performance-based layoffs or hiring freezes in the private sector are twisting themselves into contortions to explain how their contributions should be based not upon performance but upon their adhering to amorphous corporate social values like inclusivity and politeness. Commentators, pundits, and politicians are raising a cacophonous din, bemoaning how blue-chip stocks are deflating. Investors are realizing that Trump, Bessent, and crew will not heave even more coins into a runaway economic train, or continue to allow unlimited free rides to trading partners or government hires.
Yet what no one, whether they are genuinely concerned for the economy or have been the primary beneficiaries of the status quo, can deny is that an emphasis on value derived from tangible, immediate benefits—either financial or social—is here.
The Era of Efficiency is here.
The promise of efficiency is not simply about saving money, but about restoring the federal government to its proper place in our economy—one aligned with the Constitution, not with the stock market or home prices, and not as the government as job creator or income provider.
This emphasis has turned into a reexamination of government and corporate excesses. Both private and public sectors must now prove their immediate worth to shareholders and taxpayers. Returning to core missions, eliminating inefficiencies, and focusing on genuine value creation, these institutions can restore the trust they have lost from taxpayers and investors. Whether this transition is smooth or contentious, the tangible results—a more effective governance model, an empowered private sector, a steadily improving standard of living for the majority of Americans, and new opportunities for shareholders and stakeholders willing to adapt—are well worth short-term discomfort.
As the veritable hose of easy capital is turned down, only those who contribute genuine value will endure. Anything else is a perversion of economics, because it defies the fundamental purpose of investing: that what we invest our time, energy, and resources into should give us a tangible return. Underlying every example of entitlement is the reality of those diminishing returns. Eventually, someone picks up the tab. Forcing departments and companies in private and public sectors alike to perform in order to justify their existence could lead to a new landscape that promises accountability, discipline, and innovation—qualities that drove American success in earlier generations before the Age of Entitlement.
The Era of Efficiency is already bringing discomfort for those who had grown comfortable in the past age, but the bet by wise executives is that the benefits will soon become obvious if the course is stayed.
Superfluous and redundant jobs will be eliminated. Those who held them will need new careers. They will claim they were essential cogs in some governmental or corporate function, and may even try to cause chaos on the way out to prove their point. But America will survive this minor inconvenience—and be better off for it.
On the nonprofit side, funding is being cut to domestic organizations, international entities, and various institutions bearing names like “science” and “education.” Partisans of the Age of Entitlement are arguing that these funds are crucial to society, and that people will suffer without them. (If that were true, their funding would remain intact, because truly critical work still finds billions in support. If they are, in fact, accomplishing something indispensable, they can go to the private sector or to donors with evidence of the results they deliver and raise the millions required for their valuable endeavors. Thousands of organizations already do this successfully; it’s called development, and many beneficiaries of government largesse must learn this vital skill.)
More than a few social media influencers, podcasters, and cable news shows are branding these cuts as “dangerous,” “concerning,” or “problematic.” Some displaced employees are sharing tales of trauma at losing jobs they never expected to lose—an experience not unfamiliar to the average American. “Experts” predict catastrophes and crises. And while some transitory deflation of assets such as overvalued stocks and real estate, both of which have skyrocketed in recent years in our undisciplined monetary environment, is occurring right now, this is an adjustment that should be expected, not an aberration.
But as time passes, perhaps a different picture will emerge. Waiting times for routine government services will shorten. Property prices in high-demand locations will stabilize. Groceries and essentials will become more affordable, granting families more disposable income. Small businesses, freed from excessive red tape, will redirect funds toward expansion or innovation. Quality applicants will flock to leaner workplaces in pursuit of opportunities guided by real productivity. Would-be shareholders will invest in new entrepreneurs who will turn real profits, providing jobs, growth, and new sources of revenue rather than inflating their existing assets on paper as stakeholders manage companies into the ground. Communities will reap the benefits of improved local economies, receiving more direct resource allocation rather than centralized spending. Before long, perhaps even those frightened by this new era will recognize that the sky is hardly falling.
