Unknown artist: Saved (19th century)

"They seem to be aching for a comeuppance from Congress."

Christians associate saving with salvation, the deliverance from harm. Savings might seem even more beneficial than a single act of Saving, though in practice, especially in our new NextWorld context, Savings holds an entirely different connotation. One might innocently presume that as a result of Savings, for instance, that one might necessarily have accumulated a nest egg available to purchase stuff. Not so in NextWorld economics; there, the best one might expect from expansive Savings might be fewer future obligations. In a cash economy, nothing will necessarily accumulate as a result, though lower demand on income might eventually result in some surplus. The purpose of Savings in NextWorld exists only on paper. They're intended to make it appear that we'll have no deficit going forward into future years. For this to be the case, of course, the "Savings" would need to focus on paying down pre-existing Deficits, but that does not seem to be the intention here. No, the purpose seems to be to make the economy appear to be credit-worthy, capable of assuming even more significant deficits to subsidize our poor, suffering one-percenters. The billionaires are wailing and desperately need the public to bail them out again.

In practice, Savings means cutting. In NextWorld terms, it means eliminating even essential services. Many have attempted to understand how the phantom "Department Of Government Efficiency" determines excess from essential. A careful observer will conclude that they're using some sort of a random generator, for last week they sent letters to a few hundred people responsible for our nuclear stockpile saying they're wasteful and poorly performing, firing them 'for cause.' Those firings seem questionable since it seems at least unlikely that such a large number in any organization would be found terminally unproductive. A few days later, the apparently inefficient Department Of Government Efficiency decided to unfire those individuals, explaining that they'd been mistaken to fire everybody's ass, except they'd already hastily deleted their contact information and email access, so they had no way to contact their victims to invite them back. Many wondered if they'd even agree to reenter after being so cruelly dismissed.

Similar stories have become daily occurrences. The Department Of Government Efficiency seems to be the least efficient federal government operation now. They seem so interested in achieving their objective that they could care less about how they achieve their end. This strategy has always been the recipe for inflicting extreme cruelty. Everybody with a federal job could be targeted for the higher purpose of Savings. Many of these cuts seem to be pure pound-foolishness, as the cost associated with not receiving the service being slashed will likely be much more than anything initially accounted for as Savings. Nor has coherent policy influenced anything associated with the selections, since Congress, which has sole ownership of our purse strings, has not been consulted about any of these firings. Our incumbent, though, has influenced selections employing his prejudices. Minorities have been labeled DEI hires and illegally fired in much larger numbers. They've been firings, not so much Savings, and certainly not current Savings, but firings.

Any future Savings we might eventually realize will hold the definite taint of this process by which they were realized, but no Savings will be waiting for any of us in any future as a result of these bloodbaths. As I mentioned above, the purpose of these slashings seems to be to create leverage. The Deficit not being adequate to supply desired future expenditures, our incumbent approaches the difficulty as any real estate mogal might. The purpose of the real estate business has never been to create profits but to produce ever-expanding leverage, the purpose of which has always been to justify ever more borrowing. Properly engaged in, the mogal need never repay a cent while living exclusively on somebody else's dime. It's a perfectly legal Ponzi scheme and the secret behind some of this world's most fabulous fortunes. They're rich because they owe everybody so damned much that nobody dares think of initiating insolvency proceedings. With a favorable Congress, the most canny can produce generational debt, inheritable permanent over-extensions without any of the customary taxation. Our incumbent is merely securing his family's future while undermining the country's. In this way, if in no other, he qualifies as a true conservative.

What of the kindergarten teacher shockingly informed that she has been found inefficient? Because she was fired "for cause," the laws presume she caused her termination rather than that the Department Of Government Efficience's Savings Generator randomly selected her. She will be unable to receive unemployment compensation and, therefore, unable to replace her lost health insurance. She will probably not find another position in her chosen profession, and certainly not in her locality, since her firing aimed to eliminate the obligation federally-funded kindergarten programs represented. What happens to the kids and their parents? Savings seem to produce much devastation. Local governments will not be able to compensate for the federals' defection. This sure seems like the recipe for inducing a depression. Those expenses slashed to create Savings were not just wasteful excess. Though the Department Of Government Efficiency insists it exclusively focuses on eliminating waste and fraud, it offers only innuendo rather than actual evidence that this has been the case. They daily release updated, transparently fictional accountings of the massive amount of Savings their random slashings have realized without even hinting at the enormous costs and the heartache they've created.

They seem to be aching for a comeuppance from Congress.

©2025 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #NextWorld, #PureSchmaltz