Congress reminds me of a couple who asked me to advise them on their finances. They had already gone bankrupt twice. The local banks begged would they please not even drive past their offices any more.

It is not the stink of Congress’s bankruptcy that brings these folks to mind. It is how they handled the thorny subject of their budgets.

“We just don’t do a budget,” the man told me. “It would look so awful that we just choose to ignore all that.”

Congress is doing the same. For the first time in 35 years, no budget. Word around Capital Hill is they will not pass one before the November elections.

Now, they should pass a budget. If they were responsible, they would. But I cannot blame them if they do not.

They are like the bankrupt couple. If they pass a budget it will make them vomit. It is in their interest to avoid retching. It will make the voters nauseous too. And guys running for re-election try to avoid such things just before the election.

There is a government in the Caribbean that did the same thing recently. It did not come out with a budget before the election. For the same reason Congress is avoiding a budget. I’m talking about the nausea thing.