Zombies as unproductive welfare recipients

Yesterday, Bill Bonner, guest blogger at Christian Science Monitor, wrote:
“Zombie apocalypse? Economic zombies thrive off of state spending” with a rather conservative definition for politics’ zombies. The summary says:

Funded by cheap credit and government spending, Bonner foresees an impending war ahead between the zombies — people who take money from the productive sector of the economy and transfer it to themselves — and the productive parts of the economy.

And while this is an obvious metaphoric comparison (welfare recipients as zombies) I find it jarring in comparison to ideas of zombies as exploited labor. Recall the original zombies working all night in sugar mills.

Bonner’s article is primarily about Solyndra lobbying and drone strike killings but he writes:

dear reader, the zombies are everywhere. Lobbying. Spending. Getting disability and bailouts. Every US government program is full of zombies.

Why so many zombies? What you pay for is what you get. And with the “new” dollar after 1971, the feds could buy a lot of zombies.

Remember, zombies are people who take money from the productive sector of the economy and transfer it to themselves. As they grow more numerous and more powerful — thanks to the resources that go their way — the productive part of the economy is less and less able to support them.

Fewer and fewer workers…more and more zombies.

Fewer and fewer people producing things…while more and more people just consume them.

Everything is okay as long as the resources keep flowing. But the productive sector of society can only support so many zombies. Yes, the producers can be bamboozled into supporting more “education” and more “defense” when they are flush. But when times get tough, the zombies and the producers head for a showdown.

Scott Walker won a battle in Wisconsin. But the zombies’ power still grows — funded by cheap credit and government spending

Something about this definition feels wrong to me. Perhaps it’s the way Bonner uses active voice to say “zombies are people who take money from the productive sector of the economy and transfer it to themselves.” It sounds intentional and more like a vampire’s bloodsucking, whereas zombies lack intent. And Bonner’s implication that we should cut spending on ‘education’ seems a surefire recipe for making even more unproductive zombies.

And except that it’s all anti-Obama rhetoric, I am really not sure why Bonner connects Solyndra, drone strikes and zombies.