It’s a sad commentary on the state of American democracy when broad public support for investigation of the causes of growing budget imbalances and escalating national indebtedness is thwarted. Two established parties claiming to favor fiscal prudence and balanced budgets seem unable to abandon the political blame game over a spreading plague of financial mismanagement spanning multiple administrations for which both have borne administrative responsibility. Americans of all political persuasions should be rooting for the DOGE investigation of wastefully imprudent government spending. This creeping plague has gone on long enough to discredit parties that have become addicted to inadequate oversight of undisciplined want lists by too many members of Congress ignoring the big picture to favor certain elements of their constituencies. Just as we question the ability of district judges to constrain Presidential authority, so has Congressional leadership tended to legislate bottom-up “something for every member” rather than more comprehensive overarching themes affecting all Americans. A “share the wealth, bring home the bacon, I’ll get my entitlement” mentality has overcome the notion of collective well-being for the general populace of 50 states. Ongoing condemnation of the DOGE messengers has replaced serious attention to the message. The new level of transparency should serve as a revelation to both political parties about the growing extent of taxpayer dismay at indefensible ways in which their contributions have been redistributed to narrowly targeted and dubious causes here and abroad. Phil Osifer