Peter's Blog

Brace Yourself for Another “Debt Ceiling” Fight

Here we go again. The clock is ticking down to another US debt ceiling battle.

Government Debt Looking as Sketchy as a Payday Loan

The US government continues to borrow and spend at a torrid pace, running massive deficits month after month. The US national debt currently stands at nearly $28.5 trillion. That doesn’t account for the trillions of unfunded liabilities. And there is no end to the spending in sight. There are trillions of dollars in new spending […]

US Government Spending Sure Isn’t Transitory

The mainstream narrative is that the Fed will soon admit that inflation isn’t transitory. At that point, it will raise interest rates and taper its bond-buying program to fight rising prices. But this narrative ignores the elephant in the room – the ever-increasing national debt. In June, the US government ran another big deficit of […]

We Have a (Raw) Deal! SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap June 25, 2021

Yesterday, President Joe Biden announced Republicans and Democrats have come up with a $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal. But where is Uncle Sam going to come up with the money? And what does this tell you about the likely trajectory of Federal Reserve monetary policy? Host Mike Maharrey talks about it in this episode of the […]

The Government Doesn’t Actually Budget

President Biden has proposed a borrow and spend “to infinity and beyond” budget featuring $6 trillion in government spending. That’s the largest amount of spending ever proposed in a presidential budget. It’s not accurate to call it a “budget.” The federal government has given up on actual budgeting.

Why Are US Treasury Bond Sales Are About to Spike?

The federal government has already run a $2.06 trillion budget deficit in fiscal 2021 with four months left to go. But somewhat surprisingly, over the last few months, the national debt hasn’t increased at nearly the pace you would expect considering the budget shortfalls. Given the level of spending, borrowing should be much higher. How has […]

Despite Tax Day the Federal Government Runs Another Massive Deficit in May

Typically, the US government runs a budget surplus in the month that tax returns come due. Not this year. Despite a surge in receipts, the federal government ran a $131.95 billion deficit in May, continuing the trend of overspending and ballooning budget shortfalls. The federal budget deficit for fiscal 2021 now stands at $2.06 trillion […]

Slow Burn: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Podcast June 4, 2021

With some positive economic data coming out this week, investors suddenly went bullish on the economy again and decided that the Fed is surely going to deal with inflation now. Will it though? In this Friday Gold Wrap Podcast episode, host Mike Maharrey speculates about the Fed’s next move. He also looks ahead and talks […]

The Biden Budget: Borrow and Spend to Infinity and Beyond

President Joe Biden released his 2022 budget this week. The $6 trillion spending plan offers a glimpse into Biden’s long-term fiscal strategy – borrow and spend to infinity and beyond. The Biden budget would take the US to its highest sustained spending levels since World War II. And here you thought the pandemic emergency was […]

Intervention Begets Intervention: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Podcast May 28, 2021

The Fed wants us to believe everything is under control. The economy is improving. Inflation is transitory. Good times are ahead. But behind the scenes, central bankers and government officials are scrambling to keep all the economic props in place. As they intervene in one area of the economy, they create problems in another. In […]