Over the past two decades, elected politicians responsible for the welfare of American citizens have committed us to providing and expanding welfare in some form to 203 foreign countries. The sources of funding have been a combination of taxation and borrowing, such that our national indebtedness is increasing at an alarming monthly rate as it approaches an astonishing $35-trillion. This runway of fiscal madness cannot lead to a soft landing with respect to U.S. creditworthiness. The notion of buying (1) international alliances and cooperation and (2) domestic special-interest loyalty with money appropriated from constituents is not a winning political strategy when accompanied by stubbornly high inflation and other sources of public unrest are apparent. Democracy is based on principles of trust, honesty and fairness conducive to broad public support – and a forward-looking spirit of optimism that motivates its adherents. The typical American is not faring well with the recent kind of welfare. Regardless of the 2024 election outcome, we must hope for good-faith commitment to fiscal restraint from a bloated wish list. Governance should not be all about the money, but much of it is. Phil Osifer