Keller @ Large: Watch The Money

BOSTON (CBS) - Do you really want to know what's going on with our politicians at the local and national level?

Watch the money.

It's budget season both here and in Washington, and the documents they're putting out tell us plenty about the priorities and values of the men and women proposing them and criticizing them.

Watch the money.

The Republicans controlling Congress and the White House are proposing deep cuts in social programs that benefit the poor and working-class people at the margins, big increases in defense spending, all structured to accommodate the huge tax cuts they want. It's interesting how the party of smaller, less-intrusive government has such consummate faith in big government's ability to shrink the safety net without creating huge holes in it, and to manage a trickle-down economy so that actual wealth is created for the 99-percent.

The Democrats in charge of Beacon Hill have, with the cooperation of the Republican governor, continued to ratchet up spending despite all sorts of warning signs about economic growth. And yet even here, all sorts of what you'd think of as top priorities, like decent wages for caregivers to the vulnerable and adequate funding for essential public transportation, struggle to get proper funding.

Luckily, there is enough loose cash for fat raises for the insiders.

Like I said, watch the money.

It will tell you all you need to know about who they really are and what they're really thinking.

But be careful.  You may not like what you see.

Listen to Jon's commentary: