There's a theoretical "thought experiment" in Physics called "Schroedinger's cat," where kitty is sealed into a totally opaque box and there it sits.... how do you KNOW that the cat is alive or dead without looking inside the box which is forbidden [in the experiment]? Now the "thought experiment" is to decide whether it's dead or alive.
Those of us with real world knowledge know that if there aren't any air holes, then kitty has passed on - but wait, you can't know without looking to find out & in the meantime, the kitty is both alive and dead at the same time - you can't look in the box because as soon as you look it becomes how you find it, either dead or alive - so the box with kitty inside just sits there while everyone else has a long discussion about the possibilities.
It appears that the Republican'ts are of the opinion that a budget can be handled the same way. There's money in the government's coffers from taxes and fees collected. That is a real and determinable amount [like the real and determinable cat] but there's NEVER enough money in the "budget" [put the cat in the box and close the lid] to give regular people - some might say "the 99%" - critically needed services and support, but there's ALWAYS money to give large tax breaks to large corporations and Wall Street.
The "cat in the box" thought experiment is a great way to consider the physical state of light, particle or wave, but the same technique when translated to budgetary or legislative considerations is harmful to the country.
The part about talking at great length without coming to any conclusions remains the same in both cases. The "Wave or Particle" discussion is great and has a solution, the "99% or the 1% "is determinable too. All you have to do is open the box and look.
The "box" is the budget bill [most notably] and any other legislation that is put forward. Judge them by their actions and not by their speeches.
Open the box. Look at what's in the bill.
What "I just don't get" is why this seems so difficult for the American voter to see experimental evidence. It's pretty obvious who is on whose side [kitty is fine or dead]. Look at the legislation and it will tell you that the money that "We the People" have contributed for the common good plus the benefits of a certain bill are both being given out in a way that will inordinately benefit the richest individuals, corporations, and banks. How hard is it to decide that you don't want to continue down this path of thought [kitty is fine] while you are being fed ground up dead cat in your daily rations? Aren't you even a LITTLE bit inclined to "vote the bastards out?"
Every Democratic politician from now until November needs to ask everyone they meet two questions: "Is kitty fine or not?" & "Have you registered to vote yet?"
PS - to the pootie peeps - no feline or any other sekrit army member was harmed in this experiment except in thought which humans are all too prone to do considering who wakes us up at crack-o-dawn:30 to refill food dishes, go walkies and the like.