"If you're not part

of the solution, you are part of the problem." This mantra springs to mind and I apply it to myself as I sit here and snipe at the congress creatures in Washington. And yes, of course, I am part of the problem. I am one of the people to whom the government owes money. Of course, I loaned it to them when it appeared that they were a creditable, reliable and honest borrower. Should I have anticipated that they would try to live in perpetuity on borrowed money, ultimately paying me back with money borrowed elsewhere, or defaulting? Or is this not the definition of a Ponzi scheme, for which countless people are imprisoned?

I am reminded of Jerry Clower's illustration in which he likened government programs for the "benefit" of the people to a transfusion in which the donor and the recipient are the same. "They draw blood out of one arm, and run it back in in the other arm, and spill about half of it in the process."

Looks like a rough ride ahead.