Inflation was an unwelcome guest at this year's Thanksgiving gatherings. According to the Farm Bureau, a traditional Thanksgiving meal cost 14 percent more in 2021 than the same meal cost in 2020. Many families went without certain Thanksgiving favorites — or limited their guests — to reduce costs in hopes of saving Christmas from the Grinches at the Federal Reserve. Sadly, these efforts will not guaranty that children's Christmas wish lists will be fulfilled because the government-caused supply shortages have even impacted Santa's workshop.

Some pundits have suggested that the way to cope with higher prices and reduced availability of goods is for people to "lower their expectations." These pundits have unwittingly stumbled into the truth: The American people should lower their expectations of government.

Since the Progressive Era, many Americans have looked to the government for economic security. The result has been a welfare state that undermines private charities, families, local communities, and the free market. Development of entitlement mentality has contributed to the moral crisis facing the country.

Parents who expected the government to provide their children with a quality education are discovering that government schools are more interested in indoctrinating children in Cultural Marxism. The expectation that the government ensures everyone has healthcare has resulted in bankrupt entitlement programs that are major drivers of the nation's fiscal crisis. It has also led to Obamacare, which has made it more difficult for many Americans to afford quality health care.