Postmodern Western society will soon witness a real showdown, analogous to the teenager who rebels and either accepts that he is still dependent on his parents and therefore subject to the rules of the house, or runs away and implodes in a sea of drugs and street-life. In short, how will an entitled society react when the money runs out and it learns that it must change or wither away — and all the whining rhetoric about “social justice” and “a green future” and “spread the wealth” and “redistributive change” won’t bring another barrel of oil or bushel of wheat or Douglas fir 2” x 4”?
VDH is essentially saying that you cannot support a welfare state (he uses California as an example) solely on tax revenue generated by services, and the emphasis (again, ex. California) on the "millions of green jobs," "a wind and solar future," and the "high-tech sector" is meaningless if a government
discourages mining, drilling, building roads and railroads,
etc.
That's his observation, Will. The observation is its own solution.