Was the shutdown only a s**t show?

"Where do we go from here? Another shut down and s**t show in February? With the military and ATC folks not getting paid? Is this what we are paying good money for with our representatives? Is this the best there is? The fact that everybody hates each other in Washington does not help matters. But even when people got along slightly better that visceral hatred, we still could not agree on a healthcare fix. Meanwhile, the beat goes on."

The government shutdown, "It was a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Okay - I will start out quoting Macbeth. It has been said that Shakespeare used this line to show his sense of nihilism. I think in this case, it can be used to show the stupidity, the lack of caring, the absence of proper stewardship, shown by the morons we elect to serve us.

One of the cornerstones of this "agreement" which was reached this weekend, was it would fund the government until the end of January. Guess what? Between all the time off the House and Senate will take in both November and December, the end of January will be here before you know it. What will get done between now and the end of January? Not much. How about the vote to keep Obamacare limping along? No chance of that going forward. A new healthcare plan then? By the end of January? Anybody who thinks that is possible, has had one too many gummies this morning.

Here are the facts of life. I remember this well. During the days of Obamacare, which passed by a whisker (thanks, Al Franken), EVERY Republican shouted from the mountain tops that this healthcare plan was a canard. A faux idea. It was a false plan, named after a false president. And now, years later, this plan is imploding. For those who voted against this plan when it was being voted on - thank you. For those who voted for this POS - thanks for nothing.

Not to let the Republicans off the burner on this issue, they have had years to put forward a better plan. But they have not. Why? Here is the cold, hard truth. To have a good, really good and sustainable healthcare plan for every citizen, it would cost a mint. And how would we pay for this? Either by charging every citizen what it really costs (a non-starter), raising taxes to pay for this very expensive plan (again, a non-starter), or keep adding to our national debt (the usual way we do things). 

Where do we go from here? Another shut down and s**t show in February? With the military and ATC folks not getting paid? Is this what we are paying good money for with our representatives? Is this the best there is? The fact that everybody hates each other in Washington does not help matters. But even when people got along slightly better that visceral hatred, we still could not agree on a healthcare fix. Meanwhile, the beat goes on.

Want a complicating factor? Our population is aging out. With age, comes more medical expenses. Some are in the seven-figure range. As some of the older curmudgeons would tell us young whippersnappers back in the day, "If you think the cost of living is outrageous, just wait until you see the cost of dying". One more thing to put into the mix before we can find a fix.