Walk Like an Egyptian

Until this week, the only time I thought of Egypt was when listening to the Bangles' catchy hit from 30 years ago.

Now I realize that it would not be very easy to walk like an Egyptian. Apparently, Egypt's Gross National Product is roughly equal to that of the state of Alabama and it is spread out over 80 million people. Alabama has about 5 million residents, so the average Egyptian is one-eighteenth as wealthy as the average Alabamian. Living on one-eighteenth of the income of one of the poorer United States would be a challenge.

On the other hand, Egypt does have all that tourist money. "See the pyramids along the Nile!" "Swim with the friendly dolphins in the tropical Red Sea!" Except the Egyptian Army actually owns the tourist hotels. But that's OK. It means less taxes. And, oh by the way, about half of Egypt's military expenses are courtesy of Uncle Sam. Low taxes, high military expenditures, it sounds like a Tea Party Paradise.

As Congress and the President outpromise each other in cutting "discretionary domestic spending" for things like financial regulation and food / drug inspection, I wonder if the deficit might be better reduced by cutting military support that props up dictatorships and corruption in places like Egypt. But what do I know.