Puffing It All Away
Who is in charge enough to read it and weep? Mostly, it seems as though America’s political leaders can’t be bothered with America’s spending problem.
Ten months into the fiscal year, and the U.S. government is running a deficit of $1.52 trillion, with a few hundred billion dollars of additional red ink still expected to be spilled before 30 Sept.
Alarming or Amusing?
There certainly isn’t much amusing about what’s going on. As the WSJ notes, Kamala Harris has not yet been forced to defend the spending binge that has taken place on President Joe Biden’s watch or the 9.1% year-over-year inflation that Biden’s policies helped to ignite. Who is going to answer to overturning (1) the rule of law, (2) individual liberty or (3) the sacrosanctity of private property?
How Will Uncle Sam Pay for This
Ms. Harris, the presumptive Democrat candidate, keeps talking like it’s her job to finish Mr. Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. Harris promises a future of “affordable health care, affordable childcare, and paid family leave,” all courtesy of Uncle Sam. Here are a few unanswered questions:
- How much will all this cost?
- How does she propose to pay for it?
- Has she even thought about it?
How Harris Would Govern
No one seems inclined to make her answer these questions. Ms. Harris isn’t sitting for interviews, not even with friendly journalists who might pry out some details of how she intends to govern.
Instead, Harris’s campaign focuses on one-liners and scripted banter.
And Donald Trump seems more interested in demanding credit for his tax-free-tips brainstorm, while claiming that Ms. Harris is faking pictures of her rallies. “Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport?” Mr. Trump asked. “There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.’d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd.’”
Puff Is Still Running Rampant
Politicians can hope that “magical thinking” will make the spending problem go poof. But in the real world, fiscal reality will not be denied. The economy is still the driving force in the election, Scott Rasmussen tells Kimberley Strassel in a WSJ interview. An important indicator, according to SR, is what people think of their personal finances – are finances getting better or worse?
If people perceive their finances are getting worse between now and November worse than they are today, that’s really good news for Donald Trump. If people perceive their own personal finances are getting better, that’s really good for Vice President Harris and that’s something that neither candidate can control.
Mr. Rasmussen feels that the election right now is pretty much in a toss-up state. Scott warns Kim, “if somebody tells you with great confidence that they know how this election is going to turn out today, they’re either lying to themselves or to you.”
