Think about the headline question at a personal level and also how you think the average person might answer.
Image from YouTube video below.
In answer to my lead question, I would expect a huge variety of opinions including but not limited to: Inflation, putting food on the table, rent, student loans, US debt, rising deficits, Social Security running out of money, broken political system, care of a sick or dying loved one, climate change, Trump, Biden, gas prices, crime, education, employment, unaffordable housing, saving for retirement, the UAW strike, auto repairs, home repairs, the cost of an auto, lack of saving, finding a job after college, credit card debt, and gasoline prices.
That’s over 20 legitimate concerns off the top of my head. Assistance to Ukraine as the #1 top priority is one thing that would not have crossed my mind until I saw this Tweet.
It's interesting that a politician is telling the people what their interest is… it really is mindblowing just how out of touch these politicians are.
— Klay Thompson (@Thompsonklay) September 27, 2023
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says “Providing assistance for the Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United States right now, according to most Republicans“.
Would assistance to Ukraine be your number one priority? Top 10? Top 20? On your list at all?
Q: Are politicians that seriously out of touch with what people’s concerns are?
A: Of course they are.
It’s not just McConnell, or Republicans, or Democrats. It’s the whole stinking collective lot of them.
They all make decisions based on their priorities, not yours, often based on which donors are giving them the most money for their election campaigns.
CBO Debt to GDP Estimates
Debt-to-GDP image from the Congressional Budget Office, annotations by Mish.
Debt to GDP Alarm Bells Ring, Neither Party Will Solve This
On September 7, I commented Debt to GDP Alarm Bells Ring, Neither Party Will Solve This
US Debt held by the public is soaring out of sight. It’s even worse than it looks for reasons I explain.
Yet, despite deficit spending and the national debt being enormous problems, I wonder how they would rate in a national poll.
The last concern of those struggling to put food on the table, pay rent, take care of elderly parents, pay down credit card or student debt, or pay the bills in general, is sending $100 billion and counting to Ukraine.
No One Will Fix This
Compromise is always more spending for this in return for more spending on that.
Bnd both parties want to spend more on the military.
“Neither party will fix the deficits. Neither party will do anything about mounting debt. No one will do anything about anything because the political system is totally broken.” Mish
