The “no tax increases ever, for anything, shrink government” forces, epitomized by Grover Norquist of Americans For Tax Reform and its “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” are getting what they wished for — debilitated, declining government. Witness the inspector general function, where less money to investigate means more problems festering for anti-government types to decry.  Or cut the state motor vehicle registry to the bone, as I just saw first hand in Massachusetts, to produce three to four hour waits for the simplest transaction causing angry motorists to glare non-stop, mutter epithets and game the clerks who, in response to this perpetual onslaught, work even slower and deploy an arsenal of stock retorts and blank stares to fend off livid customers. This only provides more fodder for government critics, calls for more tax and budget cuts and a greater likelihood of a performance death spiral that further alienates the public and delegitimizes government. As a result, fewer care when bankruptcy comes to cities such as Detroit, major counties such as Jefferson in Alabama, with even states, such as Illinois, find themselves in the fiscal ICU, a trend nicely chronicled last year in the Daily Kos. Defund schools, demoralize teachers, diminish education. Go after public safety pensions so police who feel their pockets being picked compensate by backing off our protection. The tax scolds are happily sowing what they have reaped and, as doctrinaire true believers, don’t see the mess being created for everyone, including them.