Well, let's see now, Rabbi:]
"Invasive bureaucracy at all levels of government"
OSHA, ATF, EEOC, EPA for starters. Then add in all the local regs and bureaucrats. Ever run a bar/nightclub/restaurant? I have.
"strangling levels of taxation"
School taxes. 15.3% FICA on wages. Sales taxes. The "Stray" taxes such as those on your phone bill. Excise taxes. Fees, ever-increasing fees, whether for a visit to a state or national park, or for auto license plates.
A few year back, I played "let's pretend" on taxes: I pretended I was still 40 and in the same job I'd had in the past but with the more-current numbers. For a guy in Austin, Texas, at $50K, a house, two cars and a couple of kids around high school age, the total tax take for all levels of government was right at 47%. (Federal income tax ain't the problem.)
"burgeoning entitlement class"
Medicaid and welfare numbers are declining? I don't know if retirement folks are included, but a) they'e entitled, and b) there are ever more of us. I note that GM's retirement program has it on the verge of financial collapse--and it ain't alone. "Aging society", remember?
"adventurism abroad"
Show me our national interest in the Balkans, or in our membership in NATO.
"an inflating currency"
$550/oz now; $35/oz in 1973.
"growing trade deficits"
Up to $900 billion a year now, and climbing. Worldwide, financial folks are nervous. Well, they say they're worried about what's called "unsustainable".
"shrinking access to energy"
While there is no need to worry about electricity, we're sure in deep doo-doo for life as we've known it for transportation energy. Politics affect that as much as the number of oil wells. If Iran gets picky about who goes through the straits of Hormuz, life would be real interesting.
"increasingly costly medical care"
I note that my recent chest X-ray was $141. Not bad for what was $40, not all that many years ago. Office visit at $95, vice $15 in 1983.
So either medical costs are going up, or the currency is inflating. Take your pick, but you sure can't have it both ways.
, Art