You Call This Global Leadership?

The US government is about to be shut down in the next 24 hours over the federal budget impasse.  Here are the only numbers you need:

Federal spending is approx. $3.7 trillion, the deficit this year alone is projected at $1.4 trillion - and the politicians are squabbling over spending cuts amounting to $33-40 billion;  that's  1% of spending and 2.9% of the deficit.  You gotta be joking, right?  

Obviously they are not, so I must conclude that their heads are so deep into the sand that they are in danger of being swallowed whole into their self-made political sand-trap.  If they call this leadership on a global scale then I suggest we call in the Greeks...

You Call This Global Leadership?

It's Greek To Me

The amount of hot air emanating from Washington DC has increased exponentially as politicians are arguing about the size of next year's budget deficit, but no matter what they decide it will be, in a word, monstrous.

To illustrate just how bad things are in the good ol' USA fiscally-wise, here's a helpful comparison:

Not fair to compare the US to Greece, you say?  Correct, because the figure for Greece is for the general government, i.e. it includes all local and municipal budgets, whereas for the US it involves the federal government only.

So, yes, it's Greek to me...