There’s been some chatter in the financial media about the decline of the gold market. Gold is a relic of the past and crypto will replace it as the go-to safe haven and inflation hedge, according to some. But as host Mike Maharrey explains in this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, the demise of the gold market is greatly exaggerated. A lot of people still want gold. Mike also touches on the national debt in this episode. It’s even worse than most people think.
The US government ran a record $1.7 trillion deficit through the first half of fiscal 2021. That’s a staggering budget shortfall, but only a symptom of the real problem – excessive government spending. We’re told this will “stimulate” the economy. But in the long run, it does no such thing.
When Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell appeared on 60 Minutes recently, he was asked what it takes to become the head of the central bank. In a clip from podcast episode 679, Peter Schiff said that when you think about the actual qualifications, Bernie Madoff would have made the perfect Fed chairman. Or perhaps the secretary of the US Treasury department.
So, what does qualify one to head up the Federal Reserve? Peter said that apparently, being clueless about economics helps.
Through the first six months of fiscal 2021, the US government ran a record $1.7 trillion budget deficit. And there is no end in sight to the borrowing and spending. Just last month, the national debt eclipsed $28 trillion for the first time. But it’s even worse than that.
A lot worse.
CPI came in even hotter than expected signaling rising inflation. The US government is running a massive record budget deficit. But we’re told these things aren’t a problem. Budget deficits don’t really matter. Inflation is transitory. But how can we be so sure? On this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks about it.
Through the first six months of fiscal 2021, the US government ran a record $1.7 trillion budget deficit. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said this is sustainable – for now.
During a webinar sponsored by the Economic Club of Washington DC, Powell said the economy can handle the current debt load. But he did warn that the long-term trajectory of the US budget is unsustainable.
The US government ran a budget deficit of $659.59 billion in March, pushing the budget shortfall to a record $1.7 trillion through the first half of fiscal 2021, according to the Treasury Department’s Monthy Treasury Statement.
The March budget deficit ranks as the third biggest monthly shortfall in US history, driving Uncle Sam the biggest half-year deficit ever.
Congress recently passed coronavirus stimulus 3.0, adding another $1.9 trillion in federal spending to the already massive fiscal 2021 budget deficit. That brings total spending related to COVID-19 to somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 trillion.
Meanwhile, the national debt has skyrocketed past $28 trillion. The US government has added $5 trillion to the debt in less than 18 months.
It might be tempting to blame all of this spending and the bloated government that comes with it on the coronavirus, but the trajectory of borrowing and spending was heading skyward even before the pandemic. In fact, the US government has been growing in size and scope for over 40 years, even as progressives bemoaned it as an era of government atrophy.
Just five months into fiscal 2021, the US government has already run a budget deficit of over $1 trillion.
In a year of massive deficits, the US federal government charted its biggest monthly shortfall of fiscal year 2021 in February.
According to the Monthly Treasury Statement, the February deficit came in at $310.92 billion, pushing the fiscal 2021 budget shortfall to $1.05 trillion.
Do you feel stimulated? Congress got the deal done on a $1.9 trillion stimulus package this week. But the markets continue to behave as if there is no inflation threat with all this borrowing, spending and money printing. On this week’s Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey breaks down the stimulus bill. He tells you what’s in it and who will pay for it. He also talks about rising prices the mainstream can’t seem to find.