And therein lies the problem, Richie. The people of the U.S. haven't recognized the dire financial circumstances that their elected representatives have placed them in and will almost certainly never "tell" Congress to do what needs to be done. Both we and the Congress will wait until someone else tells us what we have to do--probably the Chinese, by scaling down their willingness to finance our spending and ballooning debt. Or it could be Moody's and Standard & Poors, who have indicated that unless the financial condition of the country improves (more balanced budgets and reduced national debt), they will reduce the rating of our federal debt from AAA to AA.

We're headed for the same fate as Ireland, Greece, Portugal, and several other European countries, just on a much bigger scale. And because we have been a world leader and because we have enjoyed such economic dominance, the fall will be all the more difficult for us to accept.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings during this holiday season, Richie, but someone has to do the arithmetic on debt and federal spending...starting with people like Mitch McConnell!