[nathanbedford]

I agree with you on both counts, Trump should declare an emergency and build the wall, he should veto any continuing resolution. Why has Trump not declared an emergency already? Undoubtedly because he does not have sufficient support of the senators in his own party. Although he needs a vetoproof support level in either house or Senate to withstand an override attempt of is veto in the unlikely event that Congress withdraws support of the emergency declaration, coming close would mark a failure which would jeopardize his reelection and grease the rails of impeachment.

As to a veto of continuing resolutions, which Trump threatened to do and has failed to follow through on, we fiscal conservatives ought to recognize that the president never campaigned on balancing the budget. Indeed he never campaigned on cutting any entitlement-except perhaps Obama care to the degree that is considered an entitlement.

So the question has to be asked, how committed is Trump personally to cutting spending. He has an uncanny ability to read the public and he knows that conservatives rarely get elected by telling the people to eat their spinach when their Democrat opponents are promising they will keep the music playing.

The reason for this is that there is no accountability for deficits or debt because we are simply printing money. Please see:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3723710/posts?page=122#122

[Yosemitest]

"Why has Trump not declared an emergency already ?"

I guessed that he was just keeping his word and allowing them the full 3 weeks to come up with a solution.

"... how committed is Trump personally to cutting spending."

Good question.
And being from New York City, probably not very much.

I agree that Trump can read a crowd and and agree that we're printing money out of 'thin air' with nothing to back it up.
Sooner or later, our creditors are going to dump dollars in a major way.

I sunk the majority of my Thrift Savings Plan away from the government's control and into precious metals.
So far, I'm not doing very well with it, but I'm not losing my assets either.

As to your comment on The Myth of Abundance, I'll wait until I'm not so tired and can absorb it.
But at first glance or a scan read, it looks to be worth my time.

Between my Bible, and my 1967 Boy Scout handbook, I believe that we really don't need very much to live.
However our wants for living are an entirely different subject.