President Eisenhower, no left-winger, said, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."

The United States will spend about 4 trillion dollars in 2018. Defense spending represents 15%, while social security accounts for 24% and health care is 26%. Interest on the debt represents 7%. Yes, there are other categories but the big three jump out at you.

This 4 trillion dollar budget pales in comparison to our national debt (21 trillion), and the absolutely JAW- DROPPING 210 trillion in unfunded liabilities. STAGGERING DEBTS FOR OUR CHILDREN! All citizens should do some research on these unfunded liabilities. I've got an accounting degree and I struggle to fully comprehend this!

I'm frankly shocked that the bond market hasn't forced this issue to be dealt with. I guess that's one benefit of the extremely low interest rate environment that we have been in for about a decade or so.

The Trump election has convinced me that my prognostication skills suck, but at some point, a reckoning will occur. It would seem prudent to forge a grand bargain that combines spending cuts in all areas with some tax increases. The pain will have to be spread around.

I'm no pacifist as I recognize the threats posed by Putin's Russia, a South China Sea island building China, not to mention North Korea, the Middle East, climate change, etc. etc.

It'll be a hell of a challenge to balance these competing interests/conflicts and given our government and our less than informed electorate, it's hard to be optimistic.

Peter T.