Interpreted politically one could say yields for notes and bonds reversed their slide starting in October as Harris' lead evaporated at the end of September and bond markets started to bet on a Trump win, bringing with it higher deficits because of his proposed tariffs and tax cuts.
“If every country is looking equally irresponsible, then the chances of [a US budget crisis] happening are slim, certainly on a sustainable basis. But when all the countries are experiencing high debt ratios and high deficits, then it′s less likely because in effect there is nowhere to run, with the possible exception of physical assets like gold.” ...
“It would take another country, another region like the euro area supplanting the U.S. with regard to fiscal responsibility. That’s tough to see happening,” he added.
More.
Yeah, let's put the HOG feeding at the government trough and getting filthy stinking rich off electric car subsidies and tax credits, and government rocket contracts, in charge of government efficiency.
Trump announces Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’
What a bunch of phony baloney plastic banana good time rock 'n rollas.
"Government efficiency" is one of those oxymorons that is more equal than other oxymorons.
She's the very picture of Joe Biden's Schadenfreude.
But the article name-checks Donald Trump five times because he's an opponent of Fed decisions.
There's a whole movement out there that wants to End the Fed, composed of Republicans, Democrats, and libertarians, which CNBC is loathe to mention.
Many of them argue that the US 2-year Treasury Note should be the benchmark for the Federal Funds Effective Rate, not the whim of the Fed Chair and the Federal Open Market Committee, who are un-elected, well-connected, and VERY WELL PAID elites who watch out primarily for the interests of the banksters.
For example, despite the disastrous Zero Interest Rate Policy post-Great Recession, DGS2 resisted it and outran DFF throughout the period under Obama and Trump, and anticipated the recent inflationary outburst by starting to rise in the spring of 2021, a full year before the Fed moved to "combat inflation" by raising the funds rate in the spring of 2022.
Similarly DGS2 also started to fall in November of 2023 despite no change to Fed policy, anticipating the recent decline of inflation rates by almost a year.
The role of the US Treasury Secretary, AS MUCH A CREATURE of the Executive as the Fed Chair, is also huge for interest rates because the Secretary decides how to divvy up the debt securities for auction by duration.
Biden's Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been in the news for driving up the issuance in T-bills to 22% when 15% has been customary, which has contributed to longer rates falling and stocks rising, just in time for the election.
But the costs of this have been dramatic, financing deficit spending at the highest rates and driving interest payments on the debt to the third spot in the budget, behind only Social Security and Medicare.
Spending originates in the US House by law.
Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi owns the two worst episodes of federal spending in excess of tax receipts in the history of the country, by 310% in 2009 and by 309% in 2020, under Obama (Great Financial Crisis) and then under Trump (Pandemic).
Student loan relief contributing to 27% jump in projected federal budget deficit, per CBO
Most Voters Support Prohibiting Tax Dollars from Paying for Gender Reassignment Surgery
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| Pelosi spent 210% of revenues in 2009 |
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| Pelosi spent 196% of revenues in 2010 |
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| Pelosi spent 216% of revenues in 2020 |
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| Pelosi spent 176% of revenues in 2021 |
The roll call vote is here.
Just a hypothetical here: $60.8 billion / $1.3 billion per night of Russian air assaults (compare Iran attack on Israel) = 46 nights.
The roll call vote is here.
I would have reported in real time but Blogger had a major outage yesterday afternoon lasting several hours.
CNN just reported:
The funding legislation was approved by a vote of 74-24 at 2:02 a.m. ET, more than two hours after the midnight ET deadline for passage of the critical legislation that was approved by the House on Friday.
WASHINGTON — The House voted 286-134 on Friday to pass a sweeping $1.2 trillion government funding bill, sending it to the Senate just hours before the deadline to prevent a shutdown. ...
The bill, released early Thursday, funds the departments of Homeland Security, State, Labor, Defense, Health and Human Services and various other agencies. Together with the $459 billion bill passed earlier this month, it fully funds the federal government to the tune of $1.659 trillion through September, after months of stopgap bills and negotiations.
More here.
The Roll Call Vote is here, if you want to check how your representative voted.
The argument is perennially NOT about deficit spending, but deficit spending on WHAT.
The projected tax shortfall for all programs for fiscal 2024 is $1.582 trillion, more than half of which will be net interest expense of $0.870 trillion on the exploding national debt. Interest payments on what we have already borrowed now exceed defense outlays of $0.822 trillion.
CBO in early February estimated fiscal 2024 discretionary spending at $1.739 trillion, so today's bill "saves" a mere $80 billion off that.
Mandatory spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. is estimated at $3.908 trillion for fiscal 2024.
It's obvious that spending should be cut and taxes raised, but no one has the courage for either.
They should just agree to do both and let the chips fall where they may. Everyone out here will be pissed, vote accordingly, and it would be a wash politically.
Current national debt is $34.5612 trillion and rising.
"The general population will not be duped by this aversion [sic; read diversion] to try and
blame inflation on corporate America. It starts at the raw materials,
it starts at transportation, it starts at energy," former Home Depot and
Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli said on "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" Monday. "A whole host of things that are driving this up, wage increases." ...
"This is all about, I think, trying to buy votes. This is all about an administration that is out of control," he continued. "We have a strong bias towards spending versus having a conservative policy or a sustainable future."
More.
You have the government you deserve.
Story here.
