OK, here is a test. Go to your favorite bank. Tell your banker you spent $68,000 last year and your salary or income was $49,000. And you are there to ask for a loan.

Oh, you tell the banker that last year you borrowed over $18,000 to pay for the service on your $3.6 million debt. Now you ask the banker for more money so you can continue to service your debt and for other expenses. Let me know how it works for you.

But if you were the United States of America asking world bankers you would get the loan, again and again. We are the classic too big to fail case.

Math, well, it just does not work. It has not worked for 25 years. Former President Bill Clinton not only managed to balance the budget – that was the last time it happened – he also managed to net a $70 billion surplus.

Conversely, in 2023 our credit rating was downgraded due to our financial risk.

We take in $4.9 trillion and spend $6.8 trillion while borrowing $1.8 trillion. We must borrow money from other countries in the E.U. as well as Japan, Canada, and yes, China. We have never defaulted. Congress will continue to raise the debt ceiling as the consequences for not doing so are unimaginable.

We will not have another election for the House or Senate for nearly two years and we will not have another presidential election for nearly four years. Much damage can be done in the interim.

But that does not mean the people are shut out from creating real change.

We have the loyal opposition – in this case the Democrat Party. They can be so inept that they only make moves that often throw gasoline on the fire. They are too predictable and emotional. If Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats had allowed the government to close, they would have replaced the Trump administration as the catalyst for a recession.

Then you have the courts. They move slowly and have various layers you need to go through before you have a final definitive decision. Trump learned well how to deal with the courts, and he used them to his advantage during his four years out of office. Delays can be a tool and a weapon.

Then you have the media. They were “joined at the hip” with the Democrats and as the Democrats fell in the national elections so did the mainstream media.

So, what is left to protect the nation from any force that would overplay its hand.

We have the people.

The people speak loud and clear when it comes to the “Benjamins.” Do something to affect people’s money and those who do so will pay a price. The unfortunate part of paying the price is that there can be collateral damage.

There are other factors that determine the acceptance or rejection of radical change.

1. The people display their concern in multiple ways: Investors radically change their investments, which causes a steep decline in the market per a major selloff.

2. If the people are worried, they will not spend their money out of fear of needing it to survive in the future.

3. Layoffs – the government is leading the charge here. This causes folks to be nervous, which triggers a lack in consumer confidence.

4. Inflation due to tariff wars. The jury is still out on this one.

If we continue on our current trajectory, all the above spells RECESSION. And having a recession would cause even our most “friendly” lenders/nations to increase their concern. It’s like asking for a bank loan without a job.

Could we eventually be in a position to either default on our loans to other nations or renege on our obligations to the American people. Neither can be allowed to happen.

But one day the bank will be … closed.