Bread and circuses

From Humor

Term used to describe government policies to pacify the citizenry, or the shallow, decadent desires of that same citizenry.

In both cases, it refers to low-cost, low-quality, high-availability food and entertainment that have become the sole concern of the People, to the exclusion of matters that some consider more important like: the source of said items, the revenue that paid for them, and how will they continue to get them.

The phrase is commonly used to refer to short-term government palliatives offered in place of a solution for significant, long-term problems such as defense, employment driven education and incentive to produce taxable income.