Mission Impossible

"Am I saying that finishing the job is impossible by the middle of November? Yes, it is mission impossible. Only this is not Hollywood, and we don't have Tom Cruise to save the day."     

Even though many already know this, let me paint the picture of this very confusing landscape. The Speaker of the House, a Republican, was elected with "conditions". He violated those some of those "conditions" when he worked with the Democrats to pass a CR. As it is, the Republican majority is only four votes. And that CR only lasts until 15 November 2023.

So what? How can this be so dad blamed hard? For starters, the conservatives in the Republican caucus are appalled by the size of our national debt. To start whittling down this monster debt, the conservatives want the budget levels to be pre-Covid. For just about every Democrat (and maybe some RINOs), this is a non-starter. We have "needs" which are unfunded. We have millions of new illegal immigrants which need care and feeding. We have hundreds of new regulations which need new regulators to manage them. No - in the eyes of the socialist Democrats, we need "X" plus a percent, not "X" minus a percent. 

Plus, and I have to give Biden credit for this one, we have two huge elephants in the room which are basically unmentioned in these debt discussions. First, thanks to our newfound inflation which has caused the Feds to raise interest rates, the cost of servicing a $33T debt is now a MAJOR component of our entire debt structure. Soon, it will eclipse just about everything else in the budget.

Next - the war in Ukraine. We have the overt monies which we are sending to Mr. Zelenskyy, and then we have the hidden costs. The hidden costs should concern us all. Our cupboards are getting very empty, as we have supplied too many 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine. Our ability to replenish is dwarfed by the number of shells expended in Ukraine every month. If China decides to go to war with us (that is, after they take their Panda Bears back), we will be at a distinct disadvantage. What does Slow Joe say about this issue? We will ask him after his nappy poo is over.

I am not a betting man. But I would bet the house this 45-day CR looks about the same on the 15th of November as it does today. In other words, nada will happen. We might as well start preparing the next CR now, so it will be ready to go on the 14th of November.

Am I saying that finishing the job is impossible by the middle of November? Yes, it is mission impossible. Only this is not Hollywood, and we don't have Tom Cruise to save the day.