The U.S. government’s debt has reached an eye watering $35.3 trillion, carrying an interest payment of $3 billion a day at current interest rates.
Check out USDebtClock here for all sorts of interesting information.
The interest charge has doubled since 2020 due to massive government spending during the COVID War and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s campaign of interest rate hikes to fight inflation. Going from 0.5% in March 2022 to 5.5% July 2023.
You can see why the Fed will be cutting rates next week.
Interest-rate futures speculators are betting the Fed will take a full percentage point off its key interest rates by the end of this year.
However, that relief is likely to be only temporary. Both Trump and Harris have pledged tax cuts and new spending if they take the White House next year. Neither is sustainable, JPMorgan economists said;
Irrespective of the election outcome, the trend since the [COVID War] has been profligate fiscal policy that is absorbing substantial amounts of capital.
At the same time, the en masse retirement of Baby Boomers is shifting a substantial share of the population from a high-savings period in life to a low-savings period, depressing the supply of capital.
The analyst Lyn Alden writes that the US is in the process of entering fiscal dominance. I once heard Rob Kirby remark that there was no end to the money they would draw on.
Of course the debt problem dates back decades and has been growing under both parties. Over bloated military budget, inefficient healthcare, underfunded social security, creation of a wealth divide. In addition as the debt has piled up so has accumulated interest.
For the past four decades the US had a rising debt/GDP ratio, but falling interest rates. This meant the debt was manageable because the interest payments were kept low compared to GDP. The situation has now reversed and that is very big news.
What politicians are hoping for is productivity to offset price inflation. They are especially looking to AI. This will have the result of slowing inflation but its likely to be ongoing sticky as it comes in waves or rises in certain sectors.
The debt will continue to grow, no doubts on that front, no austerity here (unlike the UK). However it will cause the dollar to weaken at a time when the BRICS grow stronger.
The US is in a sad state of affairs judged by this matrix. A shrinking middle class, deep poverty and homelessness, and rotten infrastructure. Meanwhile in the election it has failed to raise as an issue at all, yet this debt burden will impact all but the very rich.
Whitney Webb says the intent is to return humanity to feudalism, to wipe out the middle class and render us a whole lot of serfs ruled by a very few.
Our money is another of the many illusions we have been told to assume as real. It's nothing, really, pure air, the deficit especially. We littles pay it in real-enough money though, via inflation. Candidates are all about what they are going to do to stem inflation (using always one of only two PLANS: increase tariffs, or impose price controls), but no one discusses the why of inflation. Why is it happening? Because money is illusory, but printing it without bound has real implications for humans on the bottom of the food chain.
Who is this brilliant Hivean, who comments with such poise and precision? @owasco, huh? I am tipping this comment with 2 HSBI! This money may be faker than fiat for all we know, but at least I hope you will please accept the sentiment!
I know, right?! Once one begins to be able to see the lies, one finds there are lies all around. The difference between fiat and crypto though, seems to be the absence of a central bank. No controlling us with tricks. That's starting though.
Thank you for the hsbi. I love the stuff!
Oh yeah, and to be fair, I think crypto is more real than fiat - 100%. I think the issue crpyto (Hive in particular) is having is one of acceptance. I can't spend it anywhere (U.S.) and I can't trade it in any of the popular exchanges, which gives it the appearance of being less real, when really all that's lacking is adoption.
HAHAHA I can tell you know you're way around the real world better than most!
You are quite welcome, I am happy to have found you. It's funny, the user base of Hive doesn't seem that expansive, but pretty regularly I'm finding super rad people who have been here as long as or longer than myself and I'm like - how did I go 3 years without seeing you at least once???
Anyway, I'm glad I saw you :)
Because many of us don't openly make posts about it, for fear of those downvotes. Although that does seem to have gotten a bit better, it's still not gone. Control happens here too, as much as they like to tell us it doesn't.
Oh 100%. I originally came here to play flute, then decided I wanted to use my platform to educate the public on so much of what’s going on, then quickly found that I would run myself into the ground doing that, so I went back to flutes and left the heavy lifting for the ones who either have more courage or give less shits than me 🤣
Off the top of my head, I think some good ones are
urasoul
baah
valuedcustomer
mes
maxigan
…there’s a lot more, but yeah nowadays I’m just a self-censored flutist with an appreciation for bravery and honesty :)
haha I follow almost all of those.
tlavagabond is a great source, always downvoted.
derrickbroze is here, under dbroze I think
tdvtv
manorvillemike
jasonliberty just posted a fabulous essay
Good comment thank you. Big fan of |Whitney Webb too.
Tipping the article 2 HSBI as well. Clarity of mind is invaluable. It’s funny (and sad/scary) how many people still think it’s all real. They see in these elections the battle for America’s future…I may just be jaded, but all I see is a slaughter line with two doors. One is labeled socialism, the other, zionism…??? I can’t claim to know what’s really going on, and my slaughterhouse doors may not be labeled right, but it seems like something big is swelling beneath the surface, creeping up quietly for now, but with the intent to unleash hell once it’s closed in far enough to prevent escape.
Thank you so much for the appreciation, it's appreciated!
I appreciate you appreciating my appreciation!