A bit of rounding for simplicity's sake...

Entitlements are about half of total spending, at nearly $4t, and are set to automatically grow without a vote. Neither major party candidate is willing to touch that or present any serious plan. Military spending is nearly $1t, and both major party candidates want that number to grow. Interest on the debt... not paying it down, just the interest bit... is over $1t and growing. Add that together, we're talking $6t/a year.

Annual federal revenue is less than $5t.

Meaning... if we literally cut out 100% of what the government does outside of entitlements, the military, and debt service, we would be running a massive annual deficit of a trillion a year. Looking to trim trillions from the budget while ignoring entitlements and the military, or simply taxing the rich more thinking that'll do it isn't just unrealistic but insane.

I didn't run away from the GOP because of Trump's mean tweets and I didn't run away because he's Hitler. I ran away because doing nothing in the face of this is extremism. Inaction on this is not just irresponsible, but a betrayal of the public trust. The major parties are committed to betrayal of the long... medium... even short term good of the country in order to focus on not making any hard choices that would cause pain within two year election cycles.

My vote isn't gonna change much of anything and never was, but it's a middle finger to a deranged system for a reason. I'm not exactly angry about it, and have accepted that's just how it is and I'm unable to affect much. But my disgust is totally divorced from whether Trump is mean or Kamala is inauthentic or what the vibes are that swirl around culture. The whole thing is bonkers, and the focus on personality or even character seems to miss the broader picture of institutional failure and rot.