Peter's Blog

Inflation isn’t a new problem. In fact, it has plagued this country since its founding. Even though the American Revolution– and its monetary soundness– are worth celebrating, its lesser-known history reveals how war and inflation go hand-in-hand.

Every election Americans have been desensitized to claims of cutting spending and somehow getting everything they want at the same time. We expect that candidates will say we can have it all. We hypothetically know that cutting spending and government waste are good things, but they always take second priority to whatever urgent situation or […]

It looks like the Federal Reserve is about to get back into the bond business and help the US government deal with its massive debt. The Treasury Department announced yesterday that it will not have to borrow as much money in the third quarter of fiscal 2019 as originally anticipated. But this is not because […]

The government shutdown apparently didn’t save Uncle Sam any money. The US Treasury Department said it will borrow about $8 billion more than originally estimated in the first quarter of 2019 as deficits continue to spiral upward. According to new Treasury Department projections, the US government will issue $365 billion through credit markets in the […]

The federal government ended up fiscal 2018 with the largest budget deficit since 2012. Based on the most recent US Treasury Department projections, that doesn’t look to slow down in fiscal 2019. 

Death-spiral — The downward, corkscrew-motion of a disabled aircraft which is unrecoverably headed for a crash. The US federal government may well be in a death spiral  – or perhaps we should call it a debt-spiral. 

Sept. 30 marked the end of the federal government’s 2018 budget year. According to data released by the US Treasury Department, the federal debt grew by nearly $1.3 trillion in fiscal 2018 – $1,271,158,167,126.72 to be exact. It was the sixth-largest fiscal-year debt increase in the history of the United States. So much for that Republican […]

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.

While mainstream pundits and talking heads cluck about great jobs number and amazing economic growth, by and large, they completely ignore the fact that the entire economy is built on giant piles of debt. In our Friday Gold Wrap podcast last week, Mike Maharrey talked about the fact that the economy is drowning in debt, focusing […]

After Pres Trump signed a bill raising the debt ceiling last fall, we warned that rising interest rates could crush the US federal budget under interest payments. Well, interest rates are going up and so is the cost of servicing the US government’s $21-plus trillion debt.