Peter's Blog

Another Massive Deficit With More Spending Coming Down the Pike

The US is heading for economic lockdown as the impact of the coronavirus grows. To cope with the crisis, President Trump has promised fiscal stimulus. The actual plan remains unclear, but the Trump administration has floated a reduction in payroll taxes, along with bailouts and loan guarantees for struggling industries. While the details are murky, […]

US Government Kicks Off 2020 With Another Big Deficit

The US government posted another massive deficit to start out calendar-year 2020. According to the latest data released by the US Treasury Department, Uncle Sam spent $32.6 billion more than it took in last month. That compares with an $8.7 billion surplus in January 2019. Analysts had projected an $11.5 billion shortfall in January.

Something Is Out of Kilter: Friday Gold Wrap Podcast Feb. 14, 2020

Jerome Powell went to Capitol Hill this week. During his testimony before a congressional committee, the Fed chair insisted, “There is nothing about this economy that is out of kilter or imbalanced.” In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap Podcast, host Mike Maharrey takes issue with Powell’s assessment and points out some things that […]

Whether You Call It QE or Not the Fed Is Monetizing the US Debt

Last October, the Federal Reserve relaunched quantitative easing. Of course, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell insists it’s not quantitative easing. But as Peter Schiff pointed out in a recent tweet, that debate is really just semantics. The argument over whether the current Fed balance sheet expansion constitutes QE is pointless. QE was always just a euphemism […]

CBO: Massive Budget Deficits Pose “Significant Risk” to Economy

The CBO projects the federal government will run massive budget deficits into the foreseeable future and says the ballooning national debt poses “significant risk” to the economy and financial system. According to the CBO, the federal budget shortfall will hit $1.02 trillion in FY 2020 and rise into the foreseeable future. Deficits will average $1.3 […]

Spending Us Into Oblivion: Federal Budget Deficit Tops $1 Trillion in 2019 Calendar Year

The US federal government ran a budget deficit of over $1 trillion in the 2019 calendar year. It was the first budget deficit over $1 trillion in any calendar year since 2012 — in the midst of the Great Recession. The budget shortfall from January through December totaled $1.02 trillion, according to the latest report issued […]

Powell Lectures Congress About Government Spending the Fed Facilitates

Fiscal 2020 started just like fiscal 2019 ended – with a massive federal budget deficit. And that has Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell worried. In an ironic bit of political theater, Powell lectured Congress about the spending he helps facilitate. The budget shortfall last month was 34% higher than the October 2018 deficit, coming in […]

The Federal Government Spending Is Even Worse Than Advertised

Uncle Sam is spending money far faster than he’s taking in. The US federal government ran the biggest budget deficit in seven years in fiscal 2019, according to the Treasury Department. And the spending is even worse than advertised. The $984 billion deficit amounts to 4.7 percent of GDP. That’s the highest percentage since 2012. […]

2019 Federal Budget Deficit Was the Biggest in Seven Years

When is a $984 billion budget deficit good news? When you thought you might get a $1 trillion budget deficit. The Treasury Department released the fiscal year 2019 budget numbers on Friday. The budget shortfall came in at $984 billion right on the CBO estimate. A CNBC report said this would likely, “come as a […]

National Debt Climbs Over $800 Billion in Just Two Months

The US national debt increased by a staggering $814 billion between Aug. 1 and Oct. 6, according to Treasury Department data. That represents a 4% increase in the debt — in just a little over two months.