Tocqueville Management Corp. chairman John Hathaway says the growing US government debt to GDP ratio poses “the most viable threat” to the US economy.
In his fourth-quarter investment letter, Hathaway said the ballooning US debt, coupled with a bear market and a recession, will likely weaken the dollar and send gold much higher in the near future.
Between Christmas 2017 and Christmas 2018, the US government added a staggering $1,370,760,684,441.54 to the national debt, according to Treasury Department figures.
If you split that up between all American, your share of Uncle Sam’s 2018 spending spree comes to about $4,178.10.
Merry Christmas!
You’re welcome.
China and Japan dumped more US Treasuries in October, even as the federal government continued to run up its debt.
Chinese holdings of US Treasuries dropped for the fifth straight month, sinking to the lowest level since May 2017, according to data recently released by the Treasury Department. The total amount of US debt held by China fell from $1.15 trillion to 1.14 trillion. Over the past year, the Chinese have shed $50 billion in US debt.
Washington D.C. just keeps right on spending.
The U.S. federal government ran a $204.9 billion deficit in November, according to the most recent Treasury Department report. That set a record for the month of November.
The SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap podcast combines a succinct summary of the week’s precious metals news coupled with thoughtful analysis. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Well, the midterm elections are finally over. The Republicans managed to hold on to the U.S. Senate, but the Democrats took control of the House. The “Blue Wave” was more like a “Blue Ripple.” To me, it smells a lot like gridlock, which is generally good news if you’re a person who favors smaller government. Gridlock means very little will actually get done in Washington D.C. The government not doing anything – well, that doesn’t sound so bad.
But in his most recent podcast, Peter Schiff brought up a potential problem with a divided government. We will likely end up with even higher budget deficits.
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 US federal government posted the largest budget deficit since 2012 in fiscal 2018. Uncle Sam ended 2018 $779 billion in the red, adding to the ballooning national debt. The Bipartisan Policy Center called the Treasury report a “wakeup call,” noting that trillion dollar deficits during an economic expansion are a serious issue.
But not everybody is concerned. Peter Schiff appeared on RT this week to debate a socialist about the deficit.
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.
The SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap podcast combines a succinct summary of the week’s precious metals news coupled with thoughtful analysis. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
