Like most Americans I am fed up with the Senate and the House of Representatives. Over the years they have passed spending bill after spending bill and now they want to debate whether or not we should pay for the programs they instituted. If they don't want to pay for them then they should cancel them. How hard is this? Don't try to sell me some nonsense about fiscal responsibility, if Congress were fiscally responsible we wouldn't be having this discussion. The country has bigger issues than a made for TV drama about the debt ceiling.

There are signs of intelligent life starting to emerge, even on Wall Street. The board of JP Morgan has reduced Jamie Dimon's comp because of the trading loss in London. It is difficult to feel bad for someone who has to struggle through the winter on only 11 million dollars but the fact that the London loss was his fault and it is recognized as such publicly is a step in the right direction.

The US economy feels a little sluggish which I believe is due to all the noise about the "cliff". I believe the real estate sector will continue to improve, the earning of major US companies will be fine and the private sector will expand as the recovery continues. Congress has just approved a 60 billion stimulus package in hurricane relief and any spending cuts that Congress manages to pass will be minor. It is almost like the current uproar about gun control will give the politicians in DC the perfect cover to avoid any real progress on the deficit. In an ideal situation, the recent minor tax increase combined with a minor reduction in government spending, plus an improving economy should create better deficits numbers by year end. Stay tuned.