XPost: alt.sodomites.barack-obama, alt.war.civil.usa, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: talk.politics.misc   
   From: biden@deals.drugs   
      
   On 15 Mar 2022, Rudy Canoza  posted some   
   news:KI2YJ.195050$oF2.50723@fx10.iad:   
      
   > Democrats are too stupid to balance their own checkbooks.   
      
   Most everyone understands the U.S. national debt is not on a long-term   
   sustainable path, but no one seems sure when the breaking point might be   
   for real-world consequences.   
      
   In a recent "60 Minutes" interview, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell   
   brought up the elephant in the room, stressing that it's now "time, or   
   past time, to get back to an adult conversation among elected officials   
   about getting the federal government back on a sustainable fiscal path."   
      
   Frustration and worry were visibly apparent in the usually poker-faced   
   Powell, who said that we're "borrowing from future generations." Taking on   
   more debt is just another word for borrowing, and with the massive size of   
   the debt, it won't be paid back overnight.   
      
   What's most troubling is not the absolute number of the $34 trillion debt   
   but the pace at which it's increasing and the rising cost of interest   
   payments to service it.   
      
   The U.S. spends more in gross interest payments on its debt than on   
   national defense, at a time when America's military strength is especially   
   crucial with increased tensions in the Middle East, the Russian invasion   
   of Ukraine and China's continued threats toward Taiwan.   
      
   With the Fed maintaining high interest rates as part of its effort to   
   completely stamp out inflation, it makes both new borrowing and interest   
   payments on that money borrowed even more expensive for the U.S.   
   government.   
      
   U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen also highlighted the   
   importance of fiscal responsibility, telling lawmakers during a hearing   
   before the House Financial Services Committee, "It's critically important   
   that the U.S. be on a fiscally sustainable path."   
      
   While the situation seems dire, not all investors are overly concerned   
   about the state of the U.S. government's debt load.   
      
   Famous "Big Short" investor Steve Eisman, who profited heavily from his   
   bet against the housing market in 2008 and is now a portfolio manager at   
   Neuberger Berman Group, cites the amount of time investors have been   
   worried about the debt as a reason to not worry.   
      
   "This argument about the deficit has been going on for 40 years," Eisman   
   has said.   
      
   Of course, sitting out from the market over the past 40 years would not   
   have been a prudent investment decision.   
      
   For those with fear of missing out on market returns but scared of the   
   government's seemingly endless printing of U.S. dollars, hard assets have   
   come into increased focus.   
      
   The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the   
   price of gold, has risen in value by over 8% in the past year.   
      
   Bonds, meanwhile, whose payments are fixed, have not had the same success,   
   especially those with increased duration. Take long-term government bonds,   
   tracked by the iShares 20 Plus Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT), which   
   is down over 9% in the past year.   
      
   https://www.benzinga.com/startups/24/02/37156426/jerome-powell-says-34-   
   trillion-national-debt-is-ready-for-an-adult-conversation-janet-yellen-   
   calls-s   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)