Thankfully the government standoff between President Trump and Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ended. Both of these elected leaders represent the worst of American politics, not to mention their pathetic negotiating acumen. For a paltry amount of money, the Speaker made it impossible to craft a settlement before thousands of government workers were tormented for two months.

Trump should have declared a national emergency on our southern border. After all, the situation in Texas and other places abutting Mexico has become a huge threat, and the furlough of critical workers was making airline travel hazardous.

What did Trump have to lose? He could have taken money from the Defense Department and continued work on the wall. He could have been a hero to furloughed workers with no help from liberals in the House or Senate. As a bonus the president could have given DACA children a 90-day reprieve.

Lawmakers from both parties would have been screaming holy hell, as the president circumvented their responsibility for funding the government. By the way average Americans wouldn’t have given a hoot about any so-called abuse of power. They already think their representatives in the White House and Congress are incompetent and that many of them really should retire. In 2020 voters should weed out the dinosaurs and bring some new blood into US politics.

The situation should never have reached the point it did. Yet, there’s now a growing realization that many Americas have very little savings and are unable to survive any deferral of their pay. Some experts say that about 57% of adult Americans have less than $1,000 to their name. So when emergencies arise, these people have nothing to fall back on. During the recently ended furlough many workers could not come to work because they didn’t have the money to pay for gasoline.

More affluent Americans are also cutting it close. As one earns more money in this country, expenditures for disposable items and entertainment increase. This is one reason why so many parents have not been able to help their children with college tuition payments. Too few are inclined or able to squirrel away money for important purchases.

In urban centers how many individuals have a nest egg? Does any one have one year’s salary socked away? Not many. So when a medical emergency or a furlough occurs, or any one is fired, the family has to sign up for food stamps or other types of aid.

Is the government supposed to provide a safety net for these contingencies? It’s not prepared or financially able to do so. The financial condition of the country is worsening every year plagued by deficits and entitlements that never end. We save nothing for inevitable hardship. The pols that spend our tax payments are not fiscally responsible. Our government has only rarely generated enough revenues to pay for out-of-control expenditures. And old programs live in perpetuity.

Foreign countries are in the same boat. Most are bankrupt. They must borrow to meet their obligations. When socialists take over governments the situation spins further out of control. Every citizen demands more government support and fewer work hours. France is a perfect example of this untenable phenomenon.

In the US pols like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are spewing their socialistic crap, and too many actually think this 29 year-old bartender from the Bronx has any idea what she’s talking about. Socialists want free college tuition, universal health care, 70% tax rates, increased aid to able bodied Americans who rather not work, more services for illegal aliens and voting rights for convicted felons. It’s unbelievable. If these pols ever gain any real power, the country will go down the drain.

At a cocktail party I attended a learned scholar announced that Nancy Pelosi is a hero for her role in shutting down the government. Really? She orchestrated it for a small amount of money. She didn’t realize that Trump would have jumped through hoops to get $5 billion for his wall. Pelosi was in a position to take care of the DACA children and even begin to pave a road to citizenship for the 15 million illegals already in America. The naysayers are adamant that Trump would not have caved. I disagree. He was desperate. Why would he ultimately open the government for nothing in return? They’re both lousy negotiators.

Be prepared for Trump to use his powers to declare an emergency. He’s not going to back off from his mission to build the wall.