For some reason, almost all conversations I have, whether north or south, all end in Politics. I am mostly known to these people as a Massachusetts Liberal. If I want to rile them up, I say “I actually was born in Connecticut”. The eye rolls, then the groans can be heard for miles. So they want an opinion about how I see things.

I have lived in a bubble of sorts for most of my life. My wife and kids as well. I’m not sure they see the bubble the same way, but a bubble none the less.

Recently, one of my “friend’s” asked right out of the gate – “are we going to be alright and better off when this is done?” “Is he really going to get to make government better”? Is this just a show ? The answer is maybe.

– Now I have a history … 30, 40 almost 45 years of being a person that others trust and have been paid to look out for other peoples “interest”, in a smattering of ways. It has been a great life overall for me and my family, not perfect, but better than most.

My answer / discussion recently has evolved to this level of understanding. “There are times, in any ones history where their lives get upended by a system or a person, and it is pretty miserable, but in that misery, changes and adjustments get made. There are losses and wins.”

In this run in-in with history, only he and his cohorts could get away with this much bullying.

No standard politicians could do it and none are in his orbit. No one there, owes anything to anyone, other than the person appointed them. They are all outsiders, who simply are willing to break it and then rebuild it.

It has real estate development theory written all over it. “Lets gut this thing and see what we have, and maybe we’ll fix it, maybe we won’t” – Now I understand that, in my business bones, it works, and is real. I even like it. I talk out of both sides of my mouth.

But someone or some group will pay the price and have to do the work and suffer the consequences.

I still stick with foxes running the hen house as the most recent budget proposal, “cuts are likely going to hit the weakest and poorest”, here and abroad, we’ll have “lowest business tax rates in history”, “military still gets an increase”, a smattering of other financial chess moves and we will add another 3-4 trillion to the national debt over 10 years. That’s a Dog that does not hunt. Same old Same old. No america first.

The theory is America first, but we live in a global world and our interest is to make sure we do not lose. Simply put, Tariffs’ are an international issue, Russia/Ukraine international issue, China ? the EU ? Never mind the middle east. So far, the theory of america first, gets determined mostly by the global stage.

We do not have enough of labor, raw materials, or knowledge to be america first – we can do finance and banking, but others (the rest of the world), are getting into it. The others are reaching out with developmental aid, so they kill 2 birds with one stone, money, infrastructure, workers and influence.

It will be great to shrink the government, be a bully on the world stage, we’ll see who pay’s the real price and where that leaves us on the world stage. Smells a bit like “empire collapse creep”. Just like job creep in construction, you always pay a bit more than planned.