Thursday, April 16, 2026
I was struck by comments about Victor Orban and his economic plans, if you can call them that.
The Heritage Foundation praised them. Various Republicans and right wing groups said that Orban’s economic plans were their model, as did folks on Fox.
I don’t know what they saw in his plans. He destroyed the everyday economy of Hungary. It is stagnant and we are one tenth of a point better in the U.S. of A.
It reminded me of that Prime Minister in England, a conservative, who put forward an economic plan that was hailed by the same or similar group of folks that like Orban’s economic plans. She lasted five weeks, I think. The shortest time of any Prime Minister. Her economic plan was the main reason. It was a disaster. Right on it’s face. Yet, the same right-wingers and Fox praised it.
Why, I keep asking myself, are these people thinking that these very destructive ideas a good idea? I don’t know.
I think it comes down to a difference in philosophy. Put simply – Do you want a rising tide that lifts all boats or do you just want to get your boat off the beach and screw everyone else?
For decades the candidates in the Republican Party have used the phrase “tax and spend” derisively when describing Democrats. Yet it is the Republican Party, when in power that spends – much more than the Democrats. And, to make things worse, when the Republicans are in power they not only spend more, but they run up the debt. They don’t tax. They just spend. And when the Dems come in to clean up the mess they wail about the Deficit.
I heard Senator Ed Markey questioning someone from the GAO about the effect of the Big Beautiful Bill on our deficit. In ten years it will add thirty trillion dollars to the deficit. That bill alone will double our debt which will mean it will stand at double the amount of our whole annual economy. That is if we don’t get an uptick in interest rates, which is highly likely given the shaky nature of our economic house. The GAO guy said even a small uptick would blow the amount added to the deficit to fifty trillion.
When Biden left office we had the strongest economy in the world. Now? To quote our President, “People can’t believe…”
And don’t forget when Obama left office and before Trump came in we had a deal with Iran. Now? We have a war, which no one seems to know what for.
There’s never a plan. They’re incapable of it. Smoke and mirrors to enrich their own pockets and then blame the Dems.