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To investors,
The national debt problem is very quickly getting much worse. We saw an increase of $275 billion added to the debt in a single day and as it was pointed out online, the US is on track to add $1 trillion to the national debt in a single month.
This is bonkers.
The United States now has $33.442 trillion in debt. We have not run a budget surplus since 2001, which means we have had 22 years of mismanagement, regardless of which political party is in power.
Last year, the national government collected $4.9 trillion but spent $6.27 trillion. This created a budget deficit of $1.38 trillion, which is the fourth-highest of the 21st century.
Not all of the politicians are asleep at the wheel though. Earlier this week, in a story that went largely uncovered, Indiana Congresswoman Victoria Spartz threatened to resign unless a national debt commission is formed. Here was part of her statement:
“I’ve done many very difficult things being one woman standing many times with many very long hours and personal sacrifices, but there is a limitation to human capacity. If Congress does not pass a debt commission this year to move the needle on the crushing national debt and inflation, at least at the next debt ceiling increase at the end of 2024, I will not continue sacrificing my children for this circus with a complete absence of leadership, vision, and spine. I cannot save this Republic alone.”
That is what we call a strongly worded statement.
The problem is just starting though. High interest rates are creating a horrible feedback loop of high interest payments on the national debt. According to Scarlet Fu at Bloomberg:
“The US government is currently spending more to pay interest on its $33 trillion national debt than it does on national defense, according to the US Treasury’s monthly statement. In the current fiscal year through August, the Treasury has spent $807.84 billion in interest on its debt securities. The Department of Defense’s outlay for military programs totaled $695.44 billion in the same period.”
Spending more money on interest payments than the defense budget seems outrageous. Then again, it is 2023 so are we actually surprised by anything insane these days?
I have a confession to make—I was shocked to see $275 billion added to the national debt in a single day. There are few things that surprise me anymore, but that one had my jaw on the ground.
I wish I knew the solution. Unfortunately, it appears that a perpetual deficit is the name of the game for the government. You have to wonder if we would even know what to do with a budget surplus if we pulled off a miracle and created one.
As the old saying goes, “no one is coming to save you.” You have to start thinking about how you will save, invest, and drive income in a world with an ever-increasing national debt. Because that is exactly where it looks like we are headed.
Hope you have a great day. I’ll talk to everyone tomorrow.
-Pomp
Lulu Cheng Meservey is the Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Communications Officer at Activision Blizzard. This conversation was recorded at the BUILD Summit in New York.
In this conversation, Lulu breaks down how you can cut through the noise and make people care about what you're doing, how to tailor your message to people externally & internally, tactics you can use, how to prepare for a crisis way before it comes, and Lulu breaks down why there is no peace time.
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