The US government continues to borrow money at a frenetic pace in order to cover its massive spending spree. It runs huge deficits month after month and there is more spending coming down the pike. The national debt is over $28 trillion and it is about to begin surging upward again. But with the exception of a few contrarians, most people don’t worry about the national debt. The conventional wisdom seems to be that since none of the doomsday predictions about skyrocketing debt haven’t come to pass, there’s nothing to worry about.
Of course, nothing is a problem until it is. And even if the borrowing and spending don’t ultimately precipitate a crisis, it is undermining the economy. The bottom line is more debt means less growth.
A guy made a comment about my article highlighting Chipotle’s recent decision to raise menu prices in order to cover some of the cost of higher wages, pointing out that the CEO made some $38 million last year, noting “I doubt he needs it.”
The first thought that popped into my head was, ‘how exactly do you know what Brian Niccol needs?’ My second thought was, ‘what does that have to do with anything?’ And my third thought was ‘dude, you don’t have a clue how business works.’
The federal government has already run a $2.06 trillion budget deficit in fiscal 2021 with four months left to go. But somewhat surprisingly, over the last few months, the national debt hasn’t increased at nearly the pace you would expect considering the budget shortfalls. Given the level of spending, borrowing should be much higher. How has the federal government maintained its spending pace without borrowing at a much higher rate?
The US Treasury has been drawing down the balance in its Treasury General Account (TGA) at the Federal Reserve. But that maneuver is about to come to an end, so you can expect Treasury bond sales to spike in the coming months.
The CPI data came in higher than expected again in May. Looking at the trend, this should cast some serious doubt on the notion that inflation is “transitory.” Price data has come out hotter than expected every month this year. But the market reaction appears to be the exact opposite. The worse than expected CPI report seems to have reinforced the “inflation is transitory” narrative. Everybody seems to be buying into a lie the Fed is spoon-feeding us.
The Federal Reserve is the engine that drives one of the biggest, most powerful governments in the history of the world.
Without the Fed, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the government to fund its foreign wars, its massive, unsustainable social programs, the ever-growing police state, and the tangled web of corporate welfare programs. It’s almost certain none of this would exist as we know it today – not even close. The federal government would truly be limited.
A US coin with a face value of $20 just sold for $18.9 million.
That’s quite a nice little bit of appreciation right there. Or one heck of a premium, depending on how you look at it.
It shouldn’t shock you to know it was a gold coin.
Government programs, political campaigns and wishful thinking can’t trump economics. In the end, economics always wins.
Chipotle’s recently announced menu price hikes bear this out.
Last week, Russia announced plans to completely eliminate dollars and dollar-denominated assets from its sovereign wealth fund. Is this another sign of erosion of dollar dominance?
The news from Russia dovetails with a warning by billionaire fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller that the dollar could cease to be the world’s reserve currency within the next 15 years.
Hurricane season started this week. That means those of us who live in Florida are in preparedness mode – or at least we should be.
For you landlocked readers, the notion of a hurricane kit is probably foreign to you. But for those of us who live in hurricane-prone coastal areas, updating the hurricane kit is a right of passage from spring into summer.
Last year, China launched a digital yuan pilot program. The Chinese government-backed digital currency got a boost when the country’s biggest online retailer announced the first virtual platform to accept the Chinese digital currency. China isn’t the only government exploring the possibility of digital money. Sweden has developed a digital currency of its own. The European Central Bank is pushing for a digital euro. And Russian central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina recently told CNBC that digital currency is “the future of our financial system.”
So, how long before a digital dollar comes to the United States? Well, it’s already in the pipeline.
