Category: US Debt
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Friday, February 22, 2019
US Auto Loans - Americans Missing Car Payments Is a Symptom of a Much Bigger Problem / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By Robert RossTransportation is a big issue in most of the US.
It’s so big that for the majority of Americans having a car is a matter of survival. Most people can’t even go to work without a car.
That makes auto payments a high priority. And yet, the number of people who can’t make them is rising fast.
Last week, the Fed warned that auto delinquencies—or missed payments on auto loans—are on a steep rise.
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Tuesday, February 12, 2019
The $12 Trillion Federal Debt Bombshell / Interest-Rates / US Debt
“Who on earth, or in global finance, will buy this looming mountain of Treasuries?”
“Investment in gold now is insurance. It’s not for short-term gain, but for long-term protection. I view gold as the primary global currency. It is the only currency, along with silver, that does not require a counter-party signature. Gold, however, has always been far more valuable per ounce than silver. No one refuses gold as payment to discharge an obligation. Credit instruments and fiat currency depend on the credit worthiness of a counter-party. Gold, along with silver, is one of the only currencies that has an intrinsic value. It has always been that way. No one questions its value, and it has always been a valuable commodity, first coined in Asia Minor in 600 BC.” – Alan Greenspan, former Fed chairman
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Friday, January 18, 2019
Debt, Division, Dysfunction, and the March to National Bankruptcy / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Never in our lifetimes has American politics been so marked by division and dysfunction.
The longest partial government shutdown in history occurred after the Democrat-controlled Congress wouldn’t compromise with President Trump on a border wall. The impasse is but one symptom of a deeper malady – one that threatens to wreak wider social and financial instability in the years ahead.
Put plainly, the pillars of the American system as we have known it are eroding.
No longer are we unified in support of the Constitution and a (more or less) free market economy. A growing faction within one party favors socialism and outright rejects foundational American principles such as free speech, gun rights, and limited government.
Tuesday, December 04, 2018
The Debt Great Reset Is Coming / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The US government on-budget deficit was $100.5 billion in October. It was $63.2 billion in the same month a year earlier. I see little hope it will reverse.There is no appetite in Congress or the public for lower spending. Nor will we see the kind of tax policy changes that would generate more revenue.
Federal debt has grown with little complaint (except from a few of us curmudgeons) because it was mostly painless over the last decade.
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Saturday, December 01, 2018
Ray Dalio: This Debt Cycle Will End Soon / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Science tells us energy can neither be created nor destroyed within a closed system. The form may change, but the amount will only stay the same. If this only held true for debt.Within the closed system called Earth, we create debt much better than we eliminate it.
Well, when we have too much, we eventually get rid of it. But we do so in painful and unpleasant ways—via some kind of debt crisis.
This has happened over and over again throughout history. And there’s real possibility that we will soon face another major debt crisis...
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Friday, November 23, 2018
OECD Recommends Potential Major US National Debt Increases: The Impact On Retirement / / US Debt
The Organization For Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is urging the nations of the world to be prepared for and have a coordinated plan to simultaneously engage in major "fiscal stimulus" in the event of a downturn in the global economy.
"Fiscal stimulus" is how economists refer to a government substantially increasing spending, while holding taxes constant or even reducing them. By pouring more money into the economy, while not taking more money out (or taking even less money out), the theory is that the economy and employment will get a large and positive jolt, and that this jolt will hopefully create sustainable economic and employment growth rates that persist after the stimulus is gone.
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Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Whose Trillion is it Anyway? US Federal Government Shocker! / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The headline reads ‘Trump adds a trillion dollars to the national debt in 14 months’. Before you stop reading, give us a minute; this isn’t an article about Trump or politics for that matter. It’s about a process, a series of policies, and an approach that has been in place for decades now, irrespective of political parties. What we are going to give you are facts, not opinions. Those of you who read regularly should know us well enough to understand that we have no use for the ‘lesser of two evils / left-right paradigm’ approach to our Republic. Or what is left of it to be accurate.
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Saturday, July 14, 2018
Uncle Sam’s Debt-Money System Is Immoral, Tantamount to Theft / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Mike Gleason: It is my privilege now to welcome in Keith Weiner, CEO and Founder of Monetary Metals, and President of the Gold Standard Institute USA. Keith is a hard money advocate who has been an outspoken proponent for the gold standard and restoring sound money to our nation's monetary system. Keith has a PhD from the New Austrian School of Economics, and his articles have appeared in numerous publications on Internet sites throughout the globe, and it's a real pleasure to have him on with us today.
Keith, thanks so much for taking the time, and welcome.
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Tuesday, July 03, 2018
Trump Racks Up More Wins – The Rising Deficit Isn’t One of Them / Politics / US Debt
President Trump is winning on a number of fronts, and American conservatives are feeling better about their prospects than they have for a very long time.
Trump supporters are cheering an imminent shift in the balance at the Supreme Court. The President is expected to nominate a justice who respects the constitution to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy. This legacy promises to endure for decades.
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Saturday, June 30, 2018
Things To Know About This Week’s CBO US Debt Report / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Here are six things you might like to know about the Congressional Budget Office’s 2018 Long-Term Budget Outlook, which was released on Tuesday.
- The CBO’s baseline scenario shows federal debt held by the public rocketing upward at a trajectory not seen since 2009, but this time on a sustained basis and breaching 150% of GDP by 2048. Here’s the chart:
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
The Federal Reserve And Long-Term Debt – Warning! / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Won’t somebody please say something different about the Federal Reserve? Or nothing at all?
It seems amazing to me that we are so studiously focused on comments, statements, or actions emanating from the Fed. It is as if we expect to find a morsel of truth that will give us special insight or a clue as to their next move.
I suppose that is reasonable to a certain extent – especially today. We are social-app (il)literate and very impatient. Seems to be a sort of day-trader mentality. Problem is that every morning we see the same headlines. All week long we hear about the most recent Fed meeting, or the release of minutes from the last meeting, or what to expect at the next meeting, etc., etc. And the cycle repeats itself every month. (I’m not Bill Murray and this is not Ground Hog Day.)
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Monday, April 09, 2018
A Handy Guide to Congressional Budget Office CBO Report / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Tomorrow we’ll get the Congressional Budget Office’s first look at the budgetary consequences of Donald Trump.
That is, the CBO will release its 10-year budget outlook, which was delayed by a few months to allow enough time to assess recent legislation.
Expect the media to respond in a variety of ways, including matter-of-fact reporting and editorials slamming Trump and the GOP for fiscal profligacy. But whatever the perspective, most responses will have one thing in common—they’ll accept the CBO’s figures as being accurate and authoritative.
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Thursday, March 29, 2018
Uncle Sam Issuing $300 Billion In New Debt This Week Alone / Interest-Rates / US Debt
– US needs to borrow almost $300 billion this week alone
– This is the largest debt issuance since 2008 financial crisis
– Trump threatens trade war with its biggest creditor – China
– Bond auctions have seen weak demand due to large supply and trade war concerns
– $20 trillion mark reached in early September 2017; $1 trillion added in just 6 months
– US total national debt level now exceeds $21.05 trillion and is accelerating higher
– U.S. debt and dollar crisis coming which will propel gold higher (see chart)
Monday, March 19, 2018
The Wealth Machine That Rising Interest Rates Create Conflict With The National Debt / Interest-Rates / US Debt
"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world." Albert Einstein
"My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest." Warren Buffett
Compound interest is an extraordinarily powerful financial tool, and reinvesting the cash flows received from investments has historically been the single most reliable way of building wealth over the long term.
For many people, understanding the power of compound interest is the very heart of financial literacy. Compound interest is the reason why people are urged to begin investing for retirement in their 20s and 30s, because having an extra decade or two for interest earnings on interest earnings to work their magic creates a wealth building machine, and far larger savings than would be amassed by someone starting in their 40s or 50s.
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Thursday, March 01, 2018
The Potential $54 Trillion Cost Of The Fed's Planned Interest Rate Increases / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The United States national debt is currently about $20 trillion, and the federal government is paying some of the lowest interest rates in history on that debt. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates five times now, and is publicly considering another seven increases between 2018 and 2020, for a total increase of 3%.
What will be the impact on the national debt and deficits if the interest payments on the debt jump upwards because of the actions of the Fed?
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Thursday, February 22, 2018
The Latest US Debt Blow / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Count me among the worriers that thought our debt was a problem at $10 trillion… and then at $15 trillion.I was wrong.
Or, at least, those levels didn’t seem to phase investors, who kept putting down their cold, hard cash to buy U.S. Treasury bonds.
As I shook my head over the past several years, we continued our profligate ways, and now our national debt stands at a whopping $20.5 trillion, slightly more than our annual GDP.
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Monday, February 12, 2018
Reckless Deficit Spending by Congress Set to Wreck the Dollar / Interest-Rates / US Debt
U.S. equities got a free ride on the Trump train after his election, even as Federal Reserve officials hiked interest rates. That ride may have ended last week.
If commentators are correct and the blame for recent selling in the stock market falls on the burgeoning fear of rising interest rates, it looks like Fed tightening is finally having the effect many predicted when the cycle began.
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Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Illinois’ Debt Crisis Foreshadows America’s Financial Future / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Those wanting a glimpse into the future of our federal government’s finances should have a gander at Illinois. The state recently “resolved” a high-profile battle over its budget. Taxpayers were clubbed with a 32% hike in income taxes in an effort to shore up massive underfunding in public employee pensions, among other deficiencies.
But, predictably, it isn’t working. People are leaving the state in droves.
In fact, Illinois now leads the nation in population collapse. Statistics show people leaving the state at the rate of 1 every 4.3 minutes and the state dropped from 5th place to 6th in terms of overall population.
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Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Government Shutdown Ends – Markets Ignore Looming Debt and Bond Market Threat / Interest-Rates / US Debt
– U.S. Senate pass a temporary spending plan through Feb. 8 to end shutdown
– Markets shrug off both government shutdown and re-opening
– Markets, government and media ignoring worsening US debt position
– Gold responding positively to U.S. dysfunction, rising US Treasury yields & weaker dollar
– U.S. government national debt is $20.6 trillion and increasing rapidly
– ‘Bonds, like men, are in a bear market’ – Bill Gross
Monday, December 11, 2017
Soaring Deficits Force US Treasury into Foolish Debt Gamble / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The Treasury opened the fiscal year 2018 with an October budget deficit of $63.2 billion. That is 37.9% larger than the $45.8 billion deficit in October of last year. The primary reason behind this surge in year-over-year deficits was a 21.6% increase in net interest expenses. The annual red-ink problem looks even greater when recognizing that the national debt is already over 105% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at nearly $21 trillion, and with an additional $10 trillion projected to be added in the next ten years.
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