What a racket they have going there.
You said it!
I'm, perhaps, foolish enough to consider myself better informed than average about the goings on in the world, but I, frankly, am subject to precisely the same "Glaze Factor" (i.e., "MEGO," as in "My Eyes Glaze Over") when it comes to the off-the-books finances of the federal government.
I get the alcoholic analogy, but isn't the bartender at all concerned about his tip?