A plot twist of many crime movies and stories is that ironic moment when the gang discovers the big payoff they dreamed of has somehow eluded them.  

Having, in a manner of speaking, spent the four years of the Trump administration gamely tunneling toward that Federal bank vault full of lovely cash they were convinced would make all their Progressive dreams come true, the reality of finding the stacks of money long gone is a total bummer for D.C. Democrats.  After humiliating and discrediting themselves by somehow shoehorning Joe Biden into The White House through every means both fair and foul, Democrats are finding actual governance to be nowhere near as much fun as it was when they were promising all the wildly expensive goodies they would provide when the Bad Orange Man was gone.

This all took a bit longer than expected, but the grim task of lowering their expectations is setting the Liberal tears a-falling throughout Washington.  Over the past several weeks the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion Spend-A-Palooza has been cut in half.  Cherished Progressive priorities such as reductions in prescription drug prices, expanded Medicare services, the so-called Billionaire Tax, free community college, renewable electricity generation, and paid family leave are all gone.  Each of these ideas might have some merit, but at a time when the federal government is gasping along on tens of trillions of dollars of borrowed money, each of these proposals would need to be carefully scrutinized in order to determine both their cost-effectiveness and long-term utility.

However, what is the oddest of all about the discussions of this Democratic cash grab is what still remains behind after their spending plans have been reduced.

Grandma can’t get a new pair of eyeglasses because the proposed Medicare vision plan is gone, but a $2.5 billion program to promote “tree equity” in underserved communities is firmly in place.  Of course, the largest component of the $1.75 trillion that is still being proposed is a lump sum of $555 billion to be spent on heretofore unspecified green energy and climate investments—which will need to be spent very quickly, of course, because we’re all apparently due to be extinct in less than a decade.  Nonetheless, there are beach houses to be bought, consultants to be paid, and conferences at mountain resorts to be attended, so I have to guess that everyone involved will have a grand old time chipping away at this mountain of money.  To follow this is a vaguely worded laundry list of money thrown in every direction in order to forestall a revolt by the powerful Socialist Democrat bloc in the House of Representatives, whose influence has been magnified by today’s razor-thin Democratic majority—until the impending Republican Red Wave of the 2022 midterm elections comes rolling in.

There is, by the way, a $90 billion cherry on top that is to be used to “promote equity” in a variety of ways that have yet to be defined, but this is sure to be a useful slush fund for Social Justice Warriors who cannot otherwise find gainful employment.

What is left unsaid—because arithmetic is inconvenient—is that the United States government will start to default on its many financial obligations in roughly five weeks unless the Federal debt limit is raised—again.  Having needed a bump of $480 billion only a few weeks ago to stave off fiscal catastrophe, it is difficult to reconcile our imminent national bankruptcy and this idiotic Democratic attempt to spend America into the poorhouse just a little bit faster.  To even be having a conversation about borrowing another $1.75 trillion to fund this foolishness is a stark demonstration of just how disconnected from reality Joe Biden, his minions, and their media cheerleaders are at the present time.

If ever there was a time for our nation to commit to living within its means, it is right now.  America’s financial house is now on fire, so this is most definitely not the time to accept delivery on a large supply of gasoline in the form of more debts that we cannot repay.

This could turn out to be a cold and miserable winter for Democrats who love to borrow and spend, but perhaps it will presage the springtime renewal of fiscal sanity that Americans have long deserved.  The alternative is a fast slide into insolvency that will cripple our nation and do untold harm to our citizens.