As far back as anyone living today can recall, politics and elections are all about money. From campaign “war chests” to public works boondoggles to nest feathering of every stripe — the four-year Presidential sweepstakes are in the end all dollars all the time. To the victor goes the spoils.
Should the Ds win, the most favored will be trade unions, indebted college graduates, “green” industries and the least among us – -unwashed/unhoused/unemployed/undetermined genders/drug dependent/mentally unbalanced/legions of .orgs, big government aficionados and so forth.
Should Rs prevail, winners will include, conventional fuel providers, developers, for-profit entities, tariff boosters, defense contractors, military support enterprises, deregulators, armed forces, MAGA cap manufacturers and most entities along the manufacturing value chain.
As past is prologue, no matter who is victorious, the American electorate will again be the loser — BIG TIME!! The U.S. National Debt Clock below — mid-2023
Nary a single candidate for federal office has even whispered for public consumption and consideration the looming financial meltdown owing to national debt and unresolved deficienceis in Social Security and Medicare funding. Zero candidates have the guts to introduce the $35+ TRILLION national debt and consequences of same. Hey Bunky, that’s more than $100k in debt for every man, woman and child in these here United States, not including the illegal/undocumented guests/intruders/migrants who decided to move in over the past 3+ years.
The last candidate in in recent memory to even mention fiscal responsibility was a gentleman named Jeff Bell who ran for Senate from New Jersey against Cory Booker in 2014. Key to his platform was the quaint notion of returning the United States to the gold standard. That standard was abandoned in 1971, among the many dubious achievements by the first Nixon Administration. Fearing a run on gold due to rising inflation, the current fiat monetary system was adopted by RMN.
U.S. national debt at this writing was in excess of $35 trillion. At yearend of 2000, total U.S. federal debt was under $5.7 trillion, the equivalent of 57 percent of annual GDP. Our national debt by yearend 2024 is estimated at just under 125 percent of the year’s GDP. In less than a quarter century federal indebtedness has multiplied by a factor of six. Yes, the black swan events of 9/11 and COVID-19 brought unusual calls for capital outlays. But the printing presses kept on rolling long after those receded.
To boot, the funding mechanisms for Medicare and Social Security are shrinking as boomers continue their march into retirement. Succeeding generations are not of sufficient numbers to narrow the ever-widening funding gap. Further into the 21st century, population replacement is likely to fall below the 2.1 per woman, though net immigration and improvements in longevity may steady U.S. population through 2100.
While U.S. population may find an equilibrium, spending restraint is nowhere in sight. President Trump’s 4-year debt tab was about $6.5 trillion while the Biden/Harris bogey will easily exceed $8 trillion. On present course, Social Security Old Age Insurance and Medicare Hospital Insurance will both be insolvent in the mid-2030s.
A call to action seems in order, right?
In the wake of the nominating conventions of both major parties, their sales pitches are jawdropping. The Ds are selling “joy” and “not going back” despite their three-and-a-half year boondoggle that has brought millions of illegals across borders north and south, spiraling inflation, international conflicts, a China on the march, the deadly exit from Afghanistan and a putsch at the highest level. That putsch brings a nominee for President with zero international credentials, a tout for price controls, a history of anti-fracking and support for the Green New Deal.
The Rs are selling the former President, who could have had a leisurely stroll back into the White House if he could muster a modicum of humility, gratitude for his narrow escape and an outreach to disaffected Ds by inviting them to a new national unity and good feeling. Instead, day by day, brick by brick, Mr. Trump is dismantling his opportunity with sophomoric bully-boy name calling, demeaning personal attacks and repetition of dubious claims from his previous failed campaigns.
Both campaigns are riddled with deception, misdirection and outright lies. No wonder the race is within the margin of error. The Ds rid themselves of a certain loser and elevated an irrelevant punch line to the top line. And Mr. Trump shunned the high road in favor of a smarmy, bellicose gutter campaign. The Veep candidates will keep the bar low with their own mud-wrestling scrum.
Absent any serious engagement on fiscal responsibility, national defense, energy security and public safety, the electorate is left with the ugliest of choices…the devil or the deep blue sea. Taunts, tweets and Trump versus Kamalanomics, word salads and giggles. One can almost hear Nero tuning up his fiddle.
