Forgive me -- I know that there is a civil war of sorts brewing between "moderate" and "progressive" [sic] Democrats, but I can't take it seriously. They are going to reach a deal, because they are not going to lose the opportunity to spend trillions of dollars on their political donors and patrons. They are incompetent, which is why they failed to meet their own deadlines; and they are dishonest, which is why Joe Biden promised Republicans that the $1.2 trillion "infrastructure" bill excluded everything that he later included in the $3.5 trillion "reconciliation" bill. They are also radical, which is why Biden has now tacked his campaign slogan -- "build back better" -- onto the $3.5 trillion agenda, as if he had run as a socialist, which is what he actually turns out to be.
But none of this matters. We don't have $3.5 trillion, or even $1.2 trillion, to spend. Democrats are claiming that the bill will cost net "zero," which is absurd, and shows just how little they care about "truth over lies," another Biden slogan. The idea seems to be that taxing billionaires and "trillionaires" (we have none of the latter) can cover the cost, somehow. But even if raising taxes on the rich could, theoretically bring in something like several hundred billion dollars -- at best, if you assume economic growth (which is slowing down) and minimal tax avoidance by high earners (ha ha ha -- just ask Biden about filing as an S-corp to avoid paying his "fair share." ) -- we still won't cover $3.5 trillion. We won't even manage to do it if we raise taxes on the middle class (inevitable).
This is just a debate about how much debt to leave to future generations -- or how quickly to push us toward default. For Democrats, it's worth it: the goal is to hook the population on entitlements that will be too politically difficult to remove, so that when default does come, its own constituencies are protected and it's the private sector that has to pay the price. Of course, once the private sector can't produce, there's less revenue... see also, almost the entire Third World, and the history of socialism everywhere that it has been tried.
Today's episode is devoted to the second anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks. It was produced before the announcement of a ceasefire deal, yet remains current & relevant.
Please listen, and #bringthemhome.
SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET (4-7 PT)
This week's portion is a beautiful poem, containing the Covenant between God and the people of Israel. But given the breaking news that Hamas may actually have agreed to release all of the Israeli hostages, I will devote my remarks to that.
One hopes it is true; if so, it makes this week's additional reading, from II Samuel 22, even more relevant: David's song of praise to the Lord for delivering him from the hand of his enemies.
"18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support."
So much to focus on this week -- and much breaking news. A peace deal in the Middle East, perhaps? Eric Adams dropping out of the mayor's race? And a looming shutdown as Democrats push their demands beyond absurdity.
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