Retrenchment and Reform

You know, for the middle of January, it is quite nice out there -- cold but not terribly so, warm enough that the snow is melting, the icicles are dripping...should be like that tomorrow, as well, which will be nice.  I did an Aldi run and it seemed like everyone and their brother was hitting the stores, which is... good.  Less good is my health; didn't sleep well last night, attended a Latino-themed (including cuisine) fundraiser, and between the two... well, my stomach is a little rumbly, I am a little cold and tired, and am I am trying to plow through.  I am doing the pile of laundry, just to try and move around a bit, as well as some cleaning and such.  There will be a big clean after the bathroom is done, but if I can get some of the minor mess out of the house, it would... be nice.  I should try to get to bed early, but I think we all know what will happen there.

 Property tax reforms may address local government inequities.
Is this necessarily a bad thing?  I am not sure that it is.  People feel the need to cut back -- shit costs too much -- and I think it is more than fair to imagine that maybe, just maybe, government is a part of the problem.  If so, then (by cutting it) it is also part of the solution, and that is...more than fair.  Honestly, it should be a combination of cost cuts (including salaries!) and a reduction of services.  The fact of the matter is, we can't afford to do everything, and in consequence something needs to go, especially if people don't want to pay for it.  I always come back to healthcare -- government is completed entwined with it, but no one thinks it is really that better or cheaper.  I mean -- how we will deliver it, how we measure outcomes -- that certainly needs to be fixed!  I don't think money is the solution, either.

Medicaid, ACA, climate measures on GOP chopping block - POLITICO
Speak of the devil!  Like DOGE, I don't think they will do one-tenth of what they want to do, but if they can get that done...well, I will be more than impressed.  And pleased!

Americans Are Tipping Less Than They Have in Years - WSJ
Similarly, this is not a surprise.  It's not that tipping is too high (though it is) but 1) everyone expects it nowadays; and 2) service isn't exactly better (if anything it is worse).  No wants to pay more for that!