Doug Sheridan Says
“ The WSJ Editorial Board writes, the US deficit for the fiscal year that ends this month is officially projected to be $1.7 trillion, or about $13,500 for every US household. ”
Doug Sheridan Says
The WSJ Editorial Board writes, the US deficit for the fiscal year that ends this month is officially projected to be $1.7 trillion, or about $13,500 for every US household. President Biden was saved from an uglier official figure only because the Supreme Court reversed his extra-constitutional plan to forgive student loans. But for this, the deficit would be $2 trillion.
The big news in the budget details is that payments on federal debt are soaring as interest rates rise. Interest payments have climbed $149 B in the first 11 months of the fiscal year to $644 B, up 30% from last year. Debt payments are getting close to spending on national defense of $692 B. A third of the current deficit is going to pay interest on money borrowed for previous spending blowouts.
Keep in mind that the soaring deficit comes despite a growing economy, and that spending on the Inflation Reduction Act and infrastructure law will accelerate in coming years. Total tax receipts are down 10%, year over year, owing to slower growth as well as $106 B in lower remittances to the Treasury from the Federal Reserve as the central bank’s interest expenses rise “above its income.”
Our Take 1: Baby Boomers inherited the greatest asset in the history of humankind—post Cold War America. What have they done with it? Mortgaged it to the hilt, run the proceeds through their personal income statements, and left younger gernerations to pay the tab for their indulgences. It's an utter disgrace.
Our Take 2: If you want to see the kind of mentality that gets a country to this point, look no further than Energy Secretary Granholm. Seemingly not a day goes by when she's not crowing on this and other social media platforms about how much of taxpayers' money is being distributed by her department. The larger the amount, the more reason to celebrate it seems. See the featured image.
Our Take 3: It's getting harder to see how America gets past this rank profligacy without further reductions in its debt rating—which, at AA+ is in the eyes of Fitch Ratings already a notch below Germany and on par with Finland. Counting our blessings.
Our Take 4: Outside of the wrong-headed pursuit of a Quixotic, unnecessary and fruitless effort to pursue an energy transition at any cost, nothing threatens the future of America—and maybe the Western world—more so than the nation's $32 trillion (and growing) national debt. Expect more posts from us about this growing threat.