The political winners feel good, but no real achievement.

 AMERICANS ARE LEARNING, BUT LONG WAY TO GO

NO CONSENSUS FOR FUNDAMENTAL REFORM

Last week we saw Democrats rejoicing for winning in N.Y. and Virginia and securing their government benefits and voting rules with generous judges in Pa., but no move to do what is needed to salvage the country.

Yesterday, the Republican declared victory in the budget standoff that resulted possibly in a small decrease in the budget totals. An insignificant victory in remedying the path to insolvency of the federal government.

Emotional victories that will do little to do the massive reforms needed to save the country.

While there is hope in that we see many Americans and younger Americans, who are not programmed into party emotionalism, beginning to reject this nonsense, but the country still is not ready to face the daunting challenges on the horizon.

It seems the least focused on actually facing those challenges is the entrenched bureaucracy that just wants the gravy train to keep on running. I suspect they may understand the perilous reality of the future, but believe that they will be retired on the ranch by the time that happens. Most Americans are, sorry to say, economically illiterate, and assume everything is good if the stock market is up and 401K is increasing. Everything is good, until it is not, and then the chances of reform or remedy will be very very painful.

We see cuts to the budget by DOGE that immediately were moved over to the bloated bureaucracy in the Pentagon. A entrenched bureaucracy that is always in need of more money without any accountability or audit. It is considered too big to be held to account. I suspect this could be applicable to many other bureaucracies. 

While many have become numb to the debt and deficit figures, because many have been warning about this for decades, with no serous negative results. We now live in a changing world, the US is no longer the undisputed manufacturing leader in the world, the basis of real wealth creation. The dollar, which will continue to be used, but it is going to be eclipsed and will not be the global reserve currency, not because of foreign conspiracy, but it non longer deserves that status due to the government irresponsibility and fiscal mismanagement. Deficits translate into inflation and a reduced buying power of a currency and an evaporating store of wealth.

The attempt to lure the country into war by the war profiteers and the foreign entanglements in Europe and the middle east, who use our military as their bully big brother, with us paying or borrowing the funding and the blood of our young men, seems to be ever present. It is increasingly being rejected by the younger generations of Americans, a step in the right direction. 

The reality is we no longer can afford the wars, the generous benefits, or the fraud, waste and financial abuse and irresponsibility. The rest of world understands this much better than Americans. 

What is needed is for a President to have an oval office speech, laying out the future realistically, calling on the nation to unite and rally to make the reforms now, before it is too late. Sadly, it cannot happen, the nation, like an addict, is not yet at the bottom, the partisans would eat him alive, and his pole numbers would go to 20%. Like Jerimiah, he understands they want to be told smooth and nice things, victory and winning and an ever bright future, until it is not.