The Federal Government ran a surplus last month, as it typically does in April due to the tax deadline. The surplus was $176B which was 43% lower than the surplus last April. As the chart below shows, this was driven entirely by collapsing revenues as expenses actually fell as well.
The Federal Government ran an $89B deficit in June. This was an increase MoM but below the June deficit last year of $174B.
I reported last week that Comex delivery activity was looking very quiet in both gold and silver. The results for November are very weak. That being said, October and November are historically slow months, so the real test will come in December.
This analysis focuses on gold and silver physical delivery on the Comex. See the article What is the Comex for more detail.
The Fed keeps talk, talk, talking about tapering quantitative easing, but the balance sheet continues to get bigger and bigger and bigger.
The Fed balance sheet stands at $8.45 trillion, up by$115 billion from the prior month-end.
In fiscal 2018, the national debt expanded by more than $1 trillion. According to data released by the Treasury Department, it was the sixth-largest fiscal-year debt increase in the history of the United States. A combination of increased spending along with shrinking revenues continues to expand the federal deficit and balloon the national debt.
GOP apologists insist the revenue shortfalls caused by tax cuts are temporary and economic growth spurred by tax relief will eventually turn things around. Tax relief is great, but without substantive government relief in the form of spending cuts, the promised economic growth won’t likely materialize.
The federal debt spiral continues.
The 2018 fiscal year ended Sept. 30 and the US government closed out the year with its largest budget deficit since 2012. Uncle Sam ended 2018 $779 billion in the red, adding to the ballooning national debt.
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We’ve been talking a lot about the rising levels of debt – both government and household. Set in an environment of rising interest rates, this is a huge problem very few people seem concerned about.
We’ve been enjoying a big party and it’s about to come to an abrupt end.
