Deus ex Federal?

       Federalism means that the American people have instituted two tiers of government, each with separate functions.  The whole scheme was modeled on Swiss cantons.  In Switzerland, the Federal government is supreme in a few vital areas common to the entire country.  The cantons do most of the run of the mill government.  
        The whole idea of states rights has come into bad odor with many, but the flip side of states' rights is states' responsibilities.  Each state elects its own government representatives, who are responsible for lawmaking, including fiscal matters.  When states such as Estase's own Killinois end up with a huge financial mess, the first instinct of some is to want the Federal government to bail out the state, fixing the errors our elected officials created.   There are several reasons why this is unacceptable.
       1)  Federal bailouts of a state are a violation of the state's sovereignty.  A state that gets bailouts from the rest of the country loses its own character and dignity as a freestanding government.  It suggests that states do not have any right to their own existence, seeing as how they entirely rely on the Federal government.
       2)Federal bailouts of a state remove any incentive to be careful in electing state politicians.  Illinois is in the mess that it's in because too many of its politicians were elected for light and transient reasons.  The psychology of the mob was joined to the methods of the mafia in Illinois.  People were elected to the General Assembly who weren't responsible enough to be trusted with one's pet.  The mere suggestion that Federal money might make up for a state's bad electoral choices feeds this political Lindsay Lohan behavior.
        3) Other states shouldn't be punished for irresponsible states' choices.  Why should states like North Dakota or Tennessee pay higher taxes for goodies that they didn't enjoy?  Why should anyone elect sane politicians if the people who elect sane politicians pay for the states that elect lunatics?
        4)  Federal bailouts to irresponsible states are a terrible constitutional precedent.  Once this practice begins, it is likely to reoccur over and over again.  The end result will be anger and dissatisfaction, leading to calls for a unitary government, seeing as how the states have bungled the functions they were originally intended to perform.

You Won't Have Paul Ryan to Kick Around Any More

       The job of restoring the Constitutional importance of Congress is the most daunting task in the American government.  For over a decade, its traditional function of designing the nation's finances has been usurped by the executive, resulting in atrocities like the continuing resolutions and the most recent pork-filled omnibus bill.  (Thank you, Chuck and Nancy).  Paul Ryan fell victim to the same system that ground up John Boehner.  At one point I blamed Boehner for the continuing resolution mess.  Now Estase realizes that the system is so broken that it is a superhuman effort for one man to try to normalize our Constitutional system.
        It would be ideal if we had a President who understood and respected our Constitutional system.  Instead, we have one whose understanding of such is shaky at best.  It is also unfortunate that fixing the system means that the President needs to use his power to reduce his power--a sort of Lord of the Rings situation.  Orange Blatherskite is probably not the man for that job.
        So what you have is a situation that would vex the strongest and wisest of men.  Richard Nixon famously said upon leaving the vice presidency, "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more."  People have been monstrously unfair to Paul Ryan, inferring that the size and expense of the government is something he was comfortable with, or that he is a "liberal."  In reality, the only way to avoid absolute gridlock is to give Chuck and Nancy some of their desires, including the bitter pill of abandoning those whose whole reason for voting Republican was to defund Planned Parenthood.  The GOP base is rightly pissed, and it remains unclear whether the Republican voter will even bother to show up in November, seeing as how Chuck and Nancy seem to win in any event.  
       The constitutional abuses that have existed for the last decade make the Speaker of the House a man with a hopeless, thankless job.  Under the Constitution, as written, he should actually be the most powerful man in government, exceeding even the President.  It is not clear that this is a problem that can be remedied, and Ryan can be excused for wanting the peace of mind that comes from not attempting an impossible job.