Peter's Blog

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 […]

Government Stimulus Doesn’t Stimulate

The US government is spending money and running up debt at an unfathomable rate. The US national debt increased by a staggaring $814 billion in just two months. When confronted with this reality, most people just shrug. Policymakers certainly don’t care. They continue to ramp up spending and call for even more. Paul Krugman recently […]

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.

Fun on Friday: Silly Keynesians

I saw a tweet this week by Paul Krugman asserting, “What we do have is a persistent problem of weak demand; yes, we have full employment now, but only with extremely low interest rates, which means little ability to respond to the next downturn. This makes a strong case for a big government investment program.” […]

Is the National Debt Really Just Money We Owe to Ourselves?

The national debt continues to spiral upward. It increased by another $1.2 trillion in fiscal year 2019. But Paul Krugman says it’s not that big of a deal. He downplayed the national debt in a tweet, claiming emphatically that “DEBT IS MONEY WE OWE TO OURSELVES.” This encapsulates a common Keynesian argument. Debt can’t really burden […]

CBO Estimates FY2019 Federal Budget Deficit Was Just A Hair Under $1 Trillion

The budget deficit for fiscal year 2019 came in just a hair under $1 trillion according to the Congressional Budget Office estimate. Even if it does come in under the trillion-dollar mark, it would still rank as biggest deficit since 2012. The budget shortfall has only eclipsed $1 trillion four times, all during the aftermath of […]

Fiscal Malfeasance: US National Debt Increased $1.2 Trillion in FY2019

The US national debt increased by $1.2 trillion in fiscal 2019, which ended Sept. 30. This follows on the heels of a $1.27 trillion increase in the national debt in fiscal 2018.

US Government Adds Almost Half a Trillion Dollars to National Debt in One Month

The fiscal year budget deficit surged passed $1 trillion last month. Spending deficits necessarily mean more government borrowing and we’re seeing that in the numbers as well. Uncle Sam’s outstanding public debt grew by $450 billion in August alone. The national debt stood at $22.02 trillion on Aug. 1 and surged to $22.47 trillion as […]

Budget Deficit Shoots Past $1 Trillion for Fiscal 2019

The federal government continues to spend money at an insane rate and is running up budget deficits reminiscent of the Great Recession era. With one month left to go, the federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2019 eclipsed $1 trillion in August, according to Treasury Department data released last Thursday.

Peter Schiff: The Fed Makes Life Easier for Politicians

The Federal Reserve makes life easier for politicians by pursuing monetary policies that shield them from the consequences of bad economic decision-making. By keeping interest rates low and printing money, the Fed hides the nefarious impact of government spending, trade wars and other bad policies. Peter Schiff talked about this in a recent podcast.