The debt ceiling melodrama is a Uniparty diversion from reality
There is no real resistance in D.C. to the growth of government and the money printing fiasco.
The Swamp People want to convince you that they truly care about our government’s expansion and spending addiction, and they’re putting on a show for every television camera they can find.
According to the corporate media narrative, Republicans are said to be “holding the line” with excruciating cuts to your grandma’s social security. Democrats are seeking a clean increase for the most malleable “debt ceiling” ever installed, given that it has been raised 78 times since 1960.
With America being well over $30 trillion in debt, you would think that these democratically elected legislators would act as responsible stewards for the fiscal health of their constituents.
Unfortunately, that label only applies to somewhere between two to four percent (that might be too generous) of the 535 members of Congress. Most of the American ruling class suffers greatly from a disease called high time preference, which is incentivized by our broken economic system, and Congress is certainly not immunized from this disease.
Legislators are now reportedly closing in on a deal that will reduce spending by a whopping 0.2%. Yes, you read that correctly. They want to roll back spending by 0.2% of GDP. And it gets worse when you put it in its proper context.
In 2022, the government spent $6.3 trillion, an almost 50% hike over pre-pandemic levels. The federal deficit in 2022 was $1.4 trillion.
The White House and Congress weaponized the covid hysteria era to normalize a 6 trillion plus (and counting) dollar budget. There is no real resistance to this agenda, as both parties operate within the confines of the continually moving goal posts.
The Biden Administration wants to spend $6.9 trillion this year. Republicans want a PR win and want to “cut” spending from the earth shattering $6.3 trillion number from 2022, but only ever so slightly.
The two sides are said to be closing in on a “compromise” that would result in a miniscule reduction (reportedly somewhere around 0.2% of GDP) in exchange for a debt ceiling increase. This would still result in well over a trillion dollars in annual deficits, meaning, America’s massive sovereign debt bubble continues to reach new heights, and it’s fully supported in a bipartisan fashion.
Heritage economist Peter St Onge said it best when he remarked on Twitter that the deal will “slow the train from 80mph to 79.8 mph."
It’s become clear that the people in charge are committed to the continuation of the economic crisis.
The good news, of course, is that thanks to the innovation that is Bitcoin, Americans and other victims of central banking madness no longer have to tether their fiscal futures to the cantillionaire class.
Spot on Jordan. McCarthy will get the "win" though by raising the debt ceiling again with "concessions". All theatre. Clown world.
Solid post and really great chart.