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The United States' Financial and Economic Train Wreck

The United States blew past a Fiscal Nightmare of $35 Trillion in National Debt. That's $105,000 for every Individual and $270,000 for every Household. That Debt surged $2.3 Trillion over 12 months. That’s $6.4 Billion every single day, $266.7 Million an hour, and $4.44 Million a minute. A Quagmire of epic proportions.

Doug Casey and Others sounded the alarm about US Debt. Yet, Wall Street, the Corporate Media, Corrupt Politicians, and US Voters brushed it off. US Consumers are completely in the dark about our Real Crisis. The National Debt is construed as a distant thunderstorm — far off and abstract, rather than the storm right over their heads. You’re the ones who will be forced to Pay the Piper his due when he comes to collect. Did you know your Income Taxes were spent on interest on the National Debt last month?!

According to the latest monthly Statement of the US Treasury net interest expense was $81 Billion. That’s 43% of the $185 Billion the Government collected in Income Tax receipts.

Gross interest paid in June amounted to $140 Billion. That’s 76% of all Income Tax receipts. Simply put, 76 Cents of every Dollar you yourself paid in Income Tax in June went to Debt Interest. If that doesn’t give Taxpayers pause, God help them.

Net interest is the Interest paid on US Treasury Debt held by the Public, including both Domestic and Foreign sources. Gross interest includes Interest paid to US Government "Trust Funds" (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) and other Government accounts holding US Debt.

Every Dollar used to pay interest on the Debt is a Dollar taken from your wallet, your Bank Account, your Insurance Policy, your Reirement Account, and everything else you own/need and sent to Debt holders in Japan, China, and other Foreign Countries.

The US can’t just bank on Foreign Governments buying its Debt as they're De-Dollarizing. They already hold $8.1 Trillion of US Debt, not including Agency Debt.

Think about this from a Foreign Government’s Perspective: Would you be dumb enough to keep trusting a country that’s so irresponsible with its Finances to hold the bulk of your Reserves?!

Last year, Moody’s and Fitch Credit Agencies, downgraded their outlook on US Debt. The main reason they cited for the downgrade was, you guessed it, surging Interest payments.
Servicing the Debt is now the second-largest Budgetary Outlay. The United States spends more on interest payments than National Defense, Entitlements, and Welfare combined. How sustainable does anyone really think that is?!

It'd be Political Suicide for the Political Indentured Servants on Capitol Hill and State Capitols with their cannibalistic Corporate paymasters to admit the United States will default. They will; Bail Out the System devaluing the US Dollar. DEVALUE or DIE.

The Corporate Duopoly of Republicans and Democrats is hopelessly Corrupt. Those who look to Political Indentured Servant Legislators to solve their problems are complicit in their own throats being cut. The World Reserve Currency Status of the US Dollar is weaponized against Sovereign Countries and Citizenry to bring them to their knees is and has backfired terribly and horribly. Peace, Commerce, Honest Friendship, and Liberty🗽 is the only thing that'll mitigate the disaster of the US Government's Ponzi Scheme and the bursting of the US Bubble Economy. Time is running out!!!
Broache73 · 51-55, F
Today the National Debt is 125% of GDP, 25% larger than the entire size of the US Economy.

Typically even a Debt-to-GDP ratio of 60% is considered high. 80% is dangerously high. But developed Countries in Europe, North America, and especially Japan get away with higher levels of Debt because their Economies are more advanced and productive. For most of its History, the US had a very low National Debt — with periodic exceptions like World War II. The 1980s, the Debt-to-GDP ratio hovered at around 30%.

Older readers remember Businessman Ross Perot in 1992, and his Campaign was about eliminating the National Debt (then roughly 60% of GDP).

But by the end of the 90s, with the Economy booming and the Government actually running a small Budget surplus, America’s Debt-to-GDP ratio had dropped to around 50%. That didn’t last due Baby Bush's phony, obsessive, and blood soaked War on Terror which was extremely expensive, and by the end of Baby Bush’s debacle of a Term, Debt-to-GDP had spiked back to 65%.

The Debt then quickly reached 100% of GDP, much of that due to Bailouts and Benefits in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis.
The Debt-to-GDP ratio hovered at around 100% during Barack Obama’s Term, and during Trump’s Term... until the Pandemic. The result of Economic Shutdowns and insane Government Spending, now 133% of GDP. The US Government Spending like a Drunken Sailor comes at a significant cost.

Let’s do some basic arithmetic shall we?! In order for the Debt-to-GDP ratio to remain the same, it means that both the National Debt and US Economy must grow at the same rate. If the US Economy grows by 5%, then the National Debt can also grow by 5%, and the ratio will stay the same. It’s not unusual for the US Economy to grow by 5% in a single year.

Bear in mind that this “nominal” GDP growth includes the impact of Inflation. If inflation is 4% in a single year, and real Economic productivity growth is just 1%, then overall GDP growth will be 5% for that year, i.e. 4% + 1%. On average from 1989 through 2019 (i.e. Pre-Covid), average GDP growth in the US was right around 5%— which includes the effects of Inflation, A reasonable assumption. Simultaneously, a 5% increase in the National Debt (which is roughly equivalent to that year’s Annual Budget Deficit) is a substantial number. The National Debt is $35+ Trillion. 5% of which is a whopping $1.75 Trillion.

As long as the size of the US Economy grows by 5% (whether through Inflation, or actual productivity growth), the Annual Budget Deficit could be $1.75 Trillion and the Debt-to-GDP ratio would not increase.

A $1.75 Trillion Deficit is an absurd sum of Money. You’d think that the US Government would be able to run Operations with a $1.75 Trillion Deficit. Unfortunately that’s not true; 2024-2025 they expect to be Over-budget by nearly $2 Trillion. They’ll have to cut $250 Billion from the Budget in order to achieve a Deficit of “only” $1.75 Trillion.

Where will they cut that money you ask? Well now remember, there are 3 main categories of Government Spending;

Interest on the Debt:
This cannot be cut without a US Government Default, which would undoubtedly spark an immense Global Financial Crisis. Mandatory spending i.e. the Entitlement System, No one has the courage to cut Mandatory Spending.

Descretionary Spending: Slashing Discretionary Spending isn't small potatoes either.

FY 2025, the President’s Budget is set at $1.8 Trillion, $800 Billion of which is Military spending, few Political Indentured Servants have the willingness to slash Defense. That leaves $1 Trillion for “Non-Defense Discretionary Spending”. NASA, the Department of Education, National Parks, etc. fall into this category They’ll be force to trim these Budgets by at least 25% to save $250 Billion and achieve a $1.75 Trillion Budget Deficit.

Those cuts would only freeze the Debt-to-GDP ratio at its current level. To maintain this freeze, similar Austerity measures would enforced year after year, no room for unforeseen Expenses, Emergencies, or Economic Downturns.

The irony is, slashing a significant portion of the US Government — would also liberate the Economy from excessive Regulation. Fewer Government Bureaucrats means a more productive Private Sector, precisely what’s needed to generate Economic growth. This, coupled with Technological advancements like AI would boost productivity, real GDP growth, and reduce Inflation.

It'll require difficult decisions, Those who understand the problem (and are willing to solve it) and a fair amount of fortunate experience that no Wars, Emergencies, or Pandemics occur.

This solution also means there's no Money to bail out Entitlement System especially when they run out of money within 10 years, all Retirees and Disabled take an immediate 20-30% cut in Benefits.

If the status quo US Government continues to spend like drunken Sailors, Debt levels will rise far more than the US Economy can think of growing. Within a few years there will finally be a Point Of No Return where it will be virtually impossible to service the Debt and salvage anything.

Bottom line, America cannot afford another 4 years of ignoring this problem, no matter how much “joy” Kamala Harris and her Ditto Heads intend to bring.


This is a reason why Others are emphasizing owning Real Assets, i.e. the most critical resources in the world, like Productive Technology, key Minerals, Energy, and Food. These Assets can’t be conjured out of thin air by Central Banks or Politicians.
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JSul3 · 70-79
@Broache73
I am all in favor of cuts to the Defense Budget. Where shall we start....the F35?

"The irony is, slashing a significant portion of the US Government — would also liberate the Economy from excessive Regulation."
What regulations (aka safeguards) do you suggest we axe? Corporations continue to pollute the water and the air.
There are thousands of abandoned wells that are spewing methane into the air. Nobody is being held accountable and nobody is willing to perform the unnecessary cleanup. Gut consumer protections?


"......solution also means there's no Money to bail out Social Security."
We can start by raising the cap on SS tax. $168k?
Broache73 · 51-55, F
This is why it’s ultimately very difficult to see getting past 2025 without a Geopolitical Shock or a Global Market Shock and the Dollar surviving as the Global Reserve Currency through a single term of a Kamala Harris Administration. Her empty promises and policies create higher Deficits, balloon the National Debt, and Hyper Inflation.

The nature of a good Reserve Currency is stability and strength. Foreign Governments and Institutions require stability in the Reserve Currency. Countries around the World are desperate for something they can actually rely on—something that won’t be inflated away or subject to a gargantuan National Debt. Someone who backs pro-Hamas protesters is anything but strong.

Some of it is Investor speculation. The biggest driver of Gold prices is Central Bank demand, they’ve been buying literal tonnes of Gold. This is clear and obvious that they're preparing for an End of the Dollar as the dominant Global Reserve Currency.

Gold is a very reasonable Reserve Asset to hold in lieu of Dollars, because it has a 5,000-year history of maintaining its value. Central bankers know that they can trade Gold for other Currencies or Strategic Assets. It makes perfect sense that Central Banks around the World are trading Dollars for Gold.

The Jig of the Reserve Currency Status of the US Dollar is up, just like Bernie Madoff knew his Ponzi Scheme was up!
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Broache73 · 51-55, F
Money represents the hours of your life that you spent earning it. That’s the basic principle here. It represents concentrated life – all the things you want to have and do for yourself, and provide for others in the future. When these people destroy the value of money, they’re destroying part of your life.

“Inflation” isn’t caused by greedy Butchers, Bakers, and Gasoline makers. It’s caused by an excess of purchasing Media. MMT will give the State TOTAL CONTROL of its quantity and quality.

If the Government increases the money supply by, say, 10 times, General Prices will go up by 10 times. The value of your Dollar Savings will drop 90% – perhaps most American Voters won’t care, because they have no Savings, but Debt. Some people will get hold of a lot more of that 10x increase than others. And they’ll get hold of it earlier, before Prices really take off. Who? Inevitably Cronies.

Moral Question;
Look, absolutely every Government intrusion into the Economy – whether it’s Taxes, Regulations, or Inflation – always benefits the people in and around Government. It damages society.

They’re sold to the Voters as something that'll put them on easy street. The average American Taxpayer and Consumer doesn’t understand Economics; he doesn’t Think, he Feels.

Furthermore, no one talks about whether Cockamamie ideas like MMT are morally right or wrong. Instead, they have pointless and ridiculous arguments about whether it works or not. This matter is essentially a moral question; Does somebody in Government have a right to determine your Economic destiny or not?

The fact that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [AOC] – an ambitious, terminally ignorant, morally crippled 34-year-old Puerto Rican bartender – is setting the tone for this whole discussion tells you how degraded the United States actually is. It’s nothing more than a giant Welfare/Warfare and Police State.

AOC, The Donald, Bolton and his Mustache, Bernie Sanders, Pocahontas, The Wicked Witch of the West Hillary Clinton, Spiro Kamala, etc., etc. They’re all dangerous Megalomaniacs. The Chimps and Chumps listen to them, hang on to their every word, support them, and are easily incited to slobber all over them.

The American Public is going to get exactly what they deserve. I have about as much sympathy as I would have had for the Romans in the 5th century, when the Empire was collapsing.
MarkPaul · 26-30, M
This is an over-exaggeration and misguided interpretation of events. Yes, there is debt, but debt fuels growth. This crazy school-girl notion that a country (or a company) should solely operate on revenue that comes in to "balance the checkbook" is about the dumbest thing promoted by morons who have no idea what makes nations (and businesses) strong and great in longevity.

This doesn't mean money should be wasted, but an Elon Musk testimony to slash programs to cut expense at a national level or a Project 2025 initiative to treat all government programs as discretionary is a sure road to immediate ruin. Fiscal responsibility does make sense. Living in fear over a credit downgrade is a fool's errand.

Use debt wisely and prosper... or suffer the consequences.
MarkPaul · 26-30, M
@exchrist And, you continue believe debt has no place in financing the future. Try learning about the world instead of choosing to be a schoolgirl with no serious idea about how the world works.
exchrist · 31-35
@MarkPaul i believe in not making regular payments americas credit score has tanked. At the same time its creditors are fed up and out of money. Thats how credit works. America needs to pay its debt or face the debt collector. Instead america buys so many weapons assuming it can scare the debt collectors away. Thats alot of bad karma though. And has resulted in very much understandable attacks against America.
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All by design.
The installations have one job. Steal and give away the countries wealth as fast as possible..
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@Gibbon they just blame each other and promiss to fix it if they’re elected. Wash rinse repeat.
Dinos and rinos.. there’s just enough of them to pass any appropriations bill.
The prez can sign or Vito…

Not sure El Donardo is /was/will be signing blank checks for forever wars…

Just saying
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whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
@Gibbon I am sure it wont happen often..Dont beat yourself up about it..😷
jehova · 31-35, M
The best approach as well as liquidation. Is domestic production of goods. Exportation of those goods etc. Increasing domestic production of fuel. Not by drilling but by agricultural fuels. Most notably organic petroleum extracted from domestically grown hemp will offset trade deficits and allow net export of fuel (especially gasoline) furthermore the legalization and taxation of marijuana\hemp fuel; if federal, will allieviate the ever increasing burden on average citizen taxpayers. Yes health care cost reduction can be acheived and social security cost also reduced by hemp and marijuana production. We need to start domestic production(s) and solutions; isolationism militarily will help but only address less than 50% of the deficit spending
Agricultural fuel production, exportation of, and the resultant health care cost reduction is the other 40ish%. tightening our belts and "butting out" of world affairs is the only other solution that exists.
jehova · 31-35, M
@SandWitch im waiting for america to pull its head out of the 1940s are you?
SandWitch · 26-30, F
@jehova
The USA started out as nothing more than an experiment and remains so to this day, something we all must keep in mind when anticipating lofty results.
jehova · 31-35, M
@SandWitch thats definitely humbeling true and wise
redredred · M
Don’t worry about a thing. Joe Stupid showed us a little preview as did Jimmy Peanuts and the hapless Gerald Ford.

We’ll simply inflate our way out of debt. When a US dollar is worth what a US penny is worth today, the debt will effectively be only $350 billion. Then when the dollar is worth 1/10,000th of what it’s worth today the debt will be only (effectively) three and a half billion.

See? The geniuses in the Uniparty have got it all covered. Don’t worry you little head about a thing.

Oh, one more thing, buy gold or silver or maybe crypto because the dollar is doomed.
IronHamster · 56-60, M
Calvin Coolidge stripped down the Federal government when faced with financial crisis. Kamala will increase spending, and inflation. I like the idea of Elon working with the Trump administration to incease efficiency and reduce waste. He eliminating 90% of the Twitter staff and ended up with a better product. Imagine all the DC bureaucrats fitting into one building and the cost of Maryland real estate at ten cents on the dollar. Winning!
IronHamster · 56-60, M
@Zeusdelight You started with the insults. Don't get butthurt because I am better than you.
Zeusdelight · 61-69, M
@IronHamster LOL, never any danger of me thinking you are better than me.

Even on here, you can keep your story straight:)
JSul3 · 70-79
@IronHamster Crafted by the gang at the Heritage Foundation, something they have been seeking since Reagan.

Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, but the fact that you find at least 140 people who worked for Trump are involved in the project speaks for itself. And in a second Trump term, there would likely be nobody to tell Trump what he doesn’t want to hear; in fact, that’s kind of the whole point of Project 2025, which would replace as many as 50,000 workers in the federal government with Trump loyalists.

Did I mention that doughnut boy J.D. Vance wrote the introduction?

As is usual with traitor felon Trump, when the facts hit the fan, he goes into denial mode.
The numbers sound bad, no doubt. Thought the debt-to-GDP ratio is 3% lower than it was 4 years ago. So it is going in the right direction.
@whowasthatmaskedman I'm talking about the Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
@JonLosAngeles66 for instance if you buy a house and you have a mortgage for $300k and you make $150k per year. Your personal debt to earnings ratio is 200%. Just to give it perspective. You can pay your mortgage and survive just fine. Though a person is hopefully ending up with 0 debt when they're retired. A country doesn't retire. So the best hope is to settle into a debt to GDP ratio that is easy to maintain.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
@JonLosAngeles66 Yeah. Balanced budget peanuts.. The govt just sells a few more T notes..😷
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Confined · 56-60, M
The debt is impossible to fix, so no one will. Many other countries are in the same boat. It will eventually all collapse.
jehova · 31-35, M
@Confined we (the us) have ruined our and the worlds finances. Just bc we (the us) cannot and are unlikely to ever pay off the debt doesnt mean a) that we should continue to be able to borrow money or b) somehow still have good credit. Other countries, at least in part, are bankrupt bc we(America) havent and arent going to pay them back.
Wih this unpaid. It invites debt collectors (interpreted as being terrorists) that might only be trying to ensure they ever get paid; to attack the U.S. ,which is a "Mob mindset".
InHeaven · F
Everything is going as planned. Destroy dollar bring in cbdc 🤷‍♀
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jehova · 31-35, M
Im so tired of the lies america is telling itself. Ive been saying exactly what u just did for most of my 35 years. I know how to fix it. Simply put the current system is so bankrupt they think all those weapons will hold the debt collectors at bay. It has so far. What happens when they stop building ammunition to sell to the us! Im praying it happens soon.
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OR....

We could actually let the DJT tax cuts expire and go after non-paying high earners to boost our income and accelerate payments on higher-interest-rate debt.
Tastyfrzz · 61-69, M

Ok, what do you want to cut? Or should taxes on the wealthy be increased?
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jehova · 31-35, M
@Tastyfrzz what portion is politician (elected govt) salary?
IronHamster · 56-60, M
@Tastyfrzz I never said the Pentagon needed a haircut, but it does. Those problems are all from left wing brass that got their promotions by politics instead of competence.
exchrist · 31-35
America could rebrand.
Title 9 bankruptcy. Become the United States of North America. Then the debt "disappears" but much of its property gets repossessed. Might be fun though.
SandWitch · 26-30, F
@exchrist
That's exactly what's happening to 'Trump Corp'.
exchrist · 31-35
@SandWitch yea trumps done that already several times with his business ventures.
Fa8393 · 41-45, M
America has to learn to pay its credit card bill , I can acknowledge that politicians do spend alot and both parties do spend alot too . Cutting back on certain things will help .
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whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
You tell 'em kid!! I have been trying for years...😷
SandWitch · 26-30, F
I think the only way for the USA to pay off it's National Debt is to actually start selling US assets. That's what corporations do when their debt load becomes unsustainable... they start selling off assets to pay-down their debt to erase the monthly interest-owing. Eventually, their debt is paid off and if they're lucky, the corporation can still stay in business with the skeletal remains of what remains of their business, minus it's core assets.

The USA is in the same boat right now, no different than Greece was when Greece went into Receivership during the EU fiasco several years ago. Greece literally started selling property assets, like Real Estate, like actual Greek islands to foreign interests to provide immediate cash for the Greek treasury.

The exact same option is available to the USA but in truth, there is no other option available to the USA than to start selling it's property assets to foreign interests.
jehova · 31-35, M
@SandWitch yes and america is simply too proud and senile to do it.

 
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