Anyone with an ounce of common sense knew that wasn’t possible. He won’t find $1 trillion either. 
The New “Epic” Outcome
The New York Post reports Elon Musk concedes DOGE unlikely to find $2 trillion in budget cuts — but here’s what would be an ‘epic outcome’
Billionaire Elon Musk has walked back a prior claim that his vaunted blue ribbon commission on government bloat and inefficiencies would be able to slash the roughly $6.75 trillion annual federal budget by $2 trillion.
Musk, 53, explained that the $2 trillion goal he floated on the campaign trail was merely the “best-case outcome” and admitted that he believes there may only be a “good shot” at achieving just half of that.
“I think we’ll try for $2 trillion, I think that’s like the best-case outcome,” Musk told Stagwell CEO Mark Penn during an X Spaces conversation. “If you try for $2 trillion you have a good shot at getting $1 [trillion].
“So that, I think, would be an epic outcome.”
Yes, That Would Be Epic
The “new” epic outcome would require cutting $1 trillion out of $1 trillion in discretionary non-defense spending or cutting defense spending that Trump wants to dramatically increase.
I have seen people claim discretionary spending is$2.774 trillion, but they arrive at that nonsensical number by labeling $889 interest on the debt as discretionary.
Not defaulting is in fact the number one priority.
Cutting $1 Trillion Out of $1 Trillion
Musk says that if we aim for $2 trillion we have a chance for $1 trillion. Why not aim for $6 trillion and settle for $3 trillion?
No matter. Let’s presume DOGE can cut $1 trillion by aiming for $2 trillion.
Voila! The entire non-discretionary non-military budget is now zero.
Reflections on Discretionary Spending Cuts
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) budget for fiscal year (FY) 2025 is $9.7 billion, the budget for Homeland Security is $64.8 billion, the budget for the FBI is $11.3 billion, the budget for the justice department is $37.8 billion and the budget for national intelligence is $73.4 billion.
Those items total $197 billion. Trump also wants more for the wall and mass deportations. Trump may need another 10,000 ICE agents even if his goal is a modest one to two million deportations.
Q: Wait a second Mish, didn’t you cut those expenses totally?
A: Yes. I cut 100% of discretionary spending.
But some of those are areas where Trump wants to increase discretionary spending.
Can DOGE Cut $2 Trillion Out of $1 Trillion?
On December 27, I asked the seemingly nonsensical question Can DOGE Cut $2 Trillion Out of $1 Trillion?
The answer to the first question is obvious. So let’s discuss what’s reasonable.
Unlike DOGE, I did balance the budget but it took some hard work.
I threw away Trump’s majorly expensive TCJA extension, cut military spending, and assumed a near miraculous $630 billion in DOGE cuts (or other revenue increases wherever DOGE failed).
Click above link for details.
I will revise my proposal with more details as soon as I can find some more time.
The profess will not be easy. Then process of cutting 1/3 is foreign to everyone. So to criticize his proposed $2 Trillion this early ? Is a tad unfair.
What will likely happen.
Proposed cut in employment. Now.
Acutal cuts will occur 2 years from now, when the money runs out.
When the money runs out, the cuts will happen, the cuts will be quick and the pain will be emense. Right now, it’s all talk and identifying where the cuts “should ” be.
Mish, have some faith. Have faith that things will need to become worse before the real cuts are imposed
There’s many trillions in waste. Good luck trimming down such a porcine creature.
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are both habitual liars.
I think so
I listened earlier today to Tom Woods’s great podcast chat with David Stockman, who stated how urgent it is to make $2 trillion cuts by the end of Trump’s term. He had “three buckets” as follows:
— Fat: general govt waste and unnecessary agencies (Education, Arts, etc) — $400B
— Muscle: cutting overseas military bases and concentrating on “Fortress America” with nuclear deterrent and ending the forever wars — $500B
— Bone: means-testing SS, Medicare and other cuts — $1.1T
Stockman notes that this will be difficult (to say the least) and unpopular among the DC permanent government class, lobbyists etc, but by not doing it and *soon* the US will truly enter a death spiral of debt.
I urge everyone to listen to the podcast:
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2590-reagans-budget-director-what-elon-and-vivek-should-do/
So, this merely points out the reality that to get government spending under control, Congress is going to have to address non-discretionary spending programs and reduce their eligibility and extent.
Why do we (Americans) not only tolerate, but idolize pitchmen or as I would call them, purveyors of disingenuous hyperbole? In my profession I could lose my ability to do business if I make exaggerated claims in order to get new or retain existing business. This is the way it should be in all forms of business and politics.
It’s easier.
Some 30 years ago, someone who worked at the US Navy Norfolk shipyard told me he could get me whatever I wanted, just name it. A new diesel engine ($12K) no problem. It would take a day to set up. Theft and fraud was rampant. Assuming Norfolk is not unique, the same is likely true of every US Military installation; every government department, every government program…
Reduce the US Tax Code to something much simpler, and all of the out-of-work tax lawyers and accountants could start auditing government–on a finder’s fee basis. Then, focus on overall efficiency of employees, It won’t be a trillion saved, but is will be hundreds of billions.
I am going to assume Congress won’t be able to agree on eliminating any programs of consequence. Therefore, reductions in spending will require increases in employee productivity. Therefore, a barometer of potential savings would be a comparison in productivity between federal employees performing the same function as private sector employees with similar constraints. Based on that, I’m betting you might be able to get $30 – $60 billion in savings after a few years of concerted effort.
By Mish’s accounting/planning we should prepare for a bankrupt nation, where the only option is to print money as needed, or drastically increase taxes and spend even more–Buzz economics–to infinity and beyond. In that case, just do away with budgets; and hire as many DEI people as possible into the government to ensure social justice.
The lack of creativity is depressing, but to be expected. The same lack of creativity makes it clear the US cannot grow its way out bankruptcy. US Steel is an example–the US needs Japan to make it profitable–SERIOUSLY. Think about that. Instead of generating future Andrew Carnegies we get transsexuals telling stories to preschoolers.
Being honest, tariffs won’t fix what is missing, and will likely make it worse by subsidizing noncompetitive businesses. How about closing 50% of overseas military bases? Better still, restrict to US territories only. Let’s have a drastic reduction of the State Department and downsizing of embassies, say 75%. Reduction of aid to other countries– only for national emergency aid in natural disasters. Means test ALL welfare. NO welfare/support for non-citizens/legal residents.
Of course none of this is realistic. Everyone has their hand out for their share. What it will take is an economic implosion. Mass riots in DC… think French revolution. Heads rolling down the Capitol stairs. Now, there’s a movie for Hollywood.
Cutting budgets across the board forces the agencies themselves to decide where to trim the fat. A 5% across the board cut in budgets would do nicely. 5% or more of every government agency consists of waste/fraud/abuse.
Except you can’t do it with SS, Medicare, Medicaid, debt payments, and the military will be exempted. So that leaves you with a trillion left and 5% is $50 billion.
Why is it mandatory spending, when he holds all chambers of government? This is the golden opportunity for congress to vote out trillions in garbage spending.
One person’s garbage spending is another person’s critical spending. You won’t find a majority of Republicans agreeing on getting rid of any expensive items.
10’s of millions of Americans rely upon SS, Medicare, and Medicaid to live not better than a subsistence lifestyle. In America, we like the peace of mind that our water and food supplies are 99%+ safe. We sleep well at night knowing that we have the most powerful military force on earth. We don’t have rampant terrorism on our soil because of the efforts of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies. We do not overly worry about the safety of getting on a commercial airplane. We expect that in the wake of a major national disaster that various government agencies are on the ground and helping those who have lost everything. I could go on and on. You cannot have an advanced economy and society as a nation of 300 million people panning over 2000 miles from coast to coast.
US has the most cowardly military in world history. just like israel 95% of the people they kill with bombs are women babies little boys and girls. US navy got beat repeatedly by Houthis. US lost every war since Korea cause if they fight on the ground they get beat
You’re looking at this the wrong way. There’s plenty of fraud, waste and abuse in even mandatory spending categories. E.g., how about requiring Medicare recipients to get a referral from their PCP before going to a specialist? My mother goes to an ENT just to have her ears cleaned (Something her PCP’s nurse could do), a gastroenterologist every year just to renew her PPI (which she should be buying OTC without any prescription), etc. Some of the spending is ridiculous.
That is silly. I’ve had older relatives who liked to shop the specialists, and I scolded them, LOL.
I’m recently on Medicare, but I still go to my PCP. She lets me know if I need a specialist, and I value her recommendations.
I worked for the DoD for 27 years. There a multiple millions wasted at end of every fiscal year. As the last day of the fiscal year approaches the excess fund begins moving west. It begins at the international date line and ends at the same. For example all excess funds in German go to the US east coast if it cannot be used there, it move west across times zones and ends in Hawaii. Hawaii usually has in place contracts without funds that are preapproved. Only funding is not there until time expires on the West coast of US. When the excess funds hit Hawaii, it goes into various preapproved contracts where it is immediately expended.
We have agencies in the US that are not needed.
ATF, Dept of Education, Dept. of Energy, Functions of EPA that can be done at each State level. Some of The DoD funding, Bureau of Land Management, etc.
I could easily cut 1-2 trillion out of it.
However, getting Congress to cut the amount of funding is another matter.
The private sector routinely burns money at the end of a budget year, also.
But your time zone description is interesting!
Revamping budgeting and control (accountability) has to be a key part of reducing spending. The mega bills passed by Congress are a big part of the problem. Very wasteful
I think you mean to write BILLIONS and maybe HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS. EACH AND EVERY YEAR!
And the walking back of promises continues. I wonder what narrative they will come up with to distract MAGA from this latest walkback? Maybe Trump will say we need to take over the moon.
Hey, Woodsie, name me the last president who didn’t make a campaign promise that they had to reverse course on?
None of course, but that wasn’t my point.
“And the walking back of promises continues.”
YES IT WAS!!! Along with a nice dose of BS.
Neither working with Greenland for future access to REM nor ensuring the PC doesn’t fall into complete control over China are both national security risks, something a president must consider.
Taking over the moon is Musk’s job.
Trumpy Drumfy lives in beautiful world where one doesn’t need to deal with reality or learn about the complexity of the world. But he is a master of deliberate or maybe just accidental diversion.
We promised to cut spend and balance the budget… sure .. but right now.. what about we just take over Greenland first etc etc.
Next week, some minority that threatens to destroy the USA, migrants, Islam, Chyna, fentayl from Chyna, oh and Mexico.
DOGE is not about how many trillions we can immediately save, it’s about changing the narrative and shining a spotlight on wasteful spending. There is no quick fix as Washington will not change overnight. This will be a long process.
BTW, deportations will seemingly take forever too.
Be patient it will take years to unwind the bureaucracy in Washington.
Now that’s a reasonable Ten Year expectation ; )
“Border Czar” Tom Human could negate the need to hire “10,000 Border Patrol Agents” by convincing Trump to help the President of Panama close the Darien Gap (the narrow strip of swamp/jungle between Panama and Colombia).
The Chinese Communist Party is financing bridges and roads through this jungle to facilitate quicker passage to the U.S. and Canada.
And, the Panamanian President wants this problem resolved.
He is politically too weak to stop it w/o help from other more powerful allies.
This should be Trump’s first move in Panama.
The Canal question can wait until this matter is dealt with.
This strip of Hellish geography is the passageway where millions of illegal invaders begin their journey into Central America, and eventually, into the USA.
People from China,The Middle East, Africa and elsewhere disembark in Colombia and other S.A. Countries and all of them must travel through the Darien Gap.
It is a human trafficking nightmare.
The Traffickers, corrupt government officials and Cartels all take a bite from the people that pass through the Gap.
And when those people arrive here, they take a financial bite from the U.S. Taxpayer. And that bite never ends.
If readers want an idea of what is happening in the Darien Gap, look up an investigative journalist named Michael Yon.
Former multiple combat tour Green Beret, war correspondent who is now concentrating on the millions who come to this country illegally, how that is facilitated and who profits from the misery.
This public announcement provided to you by the Trump presidential transition team …
I know SS is included in the budget, but technically it is fully funded by those working & paying SS. It wouldn’t be a drag on the budget if the gov’t had let the funds remain in the trust rather than spend the money & replace with IOUs
But then the government would have had less money to spend and would have had to raise the extra money they need through taxes. This would make many very unhappy. Everyone wants more benefits for less cost out of their pockets.
Discretionary vs non-discretionary irrelevant as far as I am concerned. Just implement the pre-covid 2019 budget, which still needed to be decreased.
Govt spending (as pct of GDP) has been increasing since the early 1970s (War on Poverty). A growing economy since Reagan and the peak in interest rates have improved the ratio some (Reagan/Interest rates) and then a lot (Tech boom).
Nonetheless, govt spending has been a rocket ship since COVID in 2020, but especially under Biden. Tax revenue as pct of GDP has “always” hovered around 18%, regardless of economics, tax policy (ie margin rates like the 1960’s 90% “tax the rich”). It is spending that has “crapped” (not sic) up into the lower 20%s and soared to 30ish at COVID peak.
I created a rolling 3 YR average for the chart below in excel (can’t see a way to post). Since WW2, aka widespread Keynesian adoption, the average REAL 3 yr GDP growth rate has been steadily and notably declining. This is accepting the govt definition of inflation, which since 1980 CPI calculation. Real growth since these changes would be even worse of a decline.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1CPkc
Well well well, Musk can’t find $2 trillion but he can find the H1B visa office to let millions of people in…lol.
I need to go work for DOGE, here’s an easy $2 trillion – cut social security and medicare. Tada! Easy peasy.
So this administration before it even gets started is already backing away from mass deportations, government agency cuts, and likely tariffs by next week. And we’re being distracted with Greenland, Canada, Gulf of America nonsense because there is no governing policies.
You get what you vote for fools.
Oh, now you’re trying to be like our favorite poster, President Musk.
Wonderful! So much value added.
Department of Education (sic) = $248 billion expenditure last year.
That’s a fat hog to cut.
No bodys needs mo edukations!
We can ask Javier Milei. Argentina turned deficit into superavit, in one month!
There is a lot of fraud and boondoggle attached to the non-discretionary spending. Realistically, it would be “child’s play” to find $150 billion in fraud to go after there. Would that impoverish some poorer districts? Yes, but openly allowing fraud is a rot that spreads, destroying everything in its path. It’s a primary reason there are 101 million people, “Not in Labor Force.”
Audit: 19 million Social Security numbers having an age over 100
https://oig.ssa.gov/assets/uploads/a-06-21-51022.pdf
Between 2016 and 2020, 139,000 of these “people” reported $8.5 billion in wages! There are 500,000 “people” over 100 yo as of 2023 who are receiving benefits.
This is interesting but doesn’t do much of anything. They coined a report acknowledging that they didn’t have controls to manage people who appear to be older than 100 in July 2023. They stated that info in THEIR files would be transferred to the Treasury’s DO NOT PAY system by Dec 2023 (13 months ago).
However, they did not say if the Treasury was capable of utilizing the info to stop payments to suspect accounts. Nor did they say what THEY were doing to investigate who were using these accounts (as they were reporting earned income, which is unlikely for anyone over 100 yo).
As usual, they wrote a good report but no actions get taken.
The lack of actions is what the DOGE guys need to focus on.
What’s the $1.3 T of “other mandatory”.
Ten percent for the big guy.
A trillion here and a trillion there and pretty soon you are talking about real money!
Amusing on another level when one considers fiat currency 😉
There is some natural synergy with federal spending cuts. Reducing red tape will allow the economy to grow so there will be more taxable income.
And many countries supply health care far better than ours at much lower cost. Medicare/Medicaid/veterans health spending is non-discretionary but could be done at much lower cost.
Similar story for the military.
Restricting your analysis to discretionary spending is a poor assumption.
Mish, how about we start with finding & eliminating as much waste, fraud & abuse as possible. While I’ll readily concede that’s not going to get us to $2T or even $1T, let’s start with a first-year goal of $100B. Then, the second year, let’s double that and so on.
I guess my point is simple in that something has to be freaking done, right?
We have to start cutting the annual budget deficits. If DOGE’s big success after Trump’s final four years is $300B in net annual spending reductions with an equal amount of greater in revenue increases from tariffs & revenue increases from a growing economy, then I’d say that’s a success. If at the very least, DOGE gives us a chance at finding ways to reduce spending and to create the necessary exposure to move public opinion, forcing Congress to act. Maybe we’ll get lucky & Trump might even come around to doing something modest to save the SSTF.
What won’t be a success is throwing up our hands and saying nothing can be done, which includes using campaign slogans as a punching bag rather than finding solutions.
It is 50 years of REVENUE uncollected that is causing the deficits. All the spending is demanded by the voters. And the Repubs will do anything they possibly can to keep up the meme “NO NEW TAXES!” (especially on the undertaxed billionaires)
Government revenue comes from taxes. So let’s double those and double the size of the IRS, which Trump is likely to halve.
Trump will increase revenues from tariffs. All that remains is who, what, how, when & where and, of course, any resultant gains in revenue vs potential inflation.
Tariffs are not going to bring in much, if any, new money. Tariffs will cause products to become more expensive. Many people will refuse to pay markedly higher prices. They will turn to other products, other solutions or forgo the product entirely.
Trump and those of his supporters who favor tariffs, such as yourself, are economic nitwits.
How about we let people we elected (and not Musk) sit down together and try to find a way to pass legislation that benefits constituents and still get a majority vote?
This stream-of-consciousness POV that Trump is king and must do something, anything just for the sake of doing it is probably not convincing anyone. And it’s likely why you got another blog-smacking knock-down from Wolf tonight.
IMO Wolf is and has always been a Harris supporter to say it in a polite way.
The guy has TDS.
I don’t think he supports Harris, but he certainly has TDS. My guess is that he knew Harris was going to lose, so he didn’t vote this time around. Wolf is a smart guy for sure. However, he censors WAY too much and doesn’t go out on a limb like Mish does routinely to call people out or make predictions. I don’t think I’ve ever read Wolf make a real economic prediction. He just breaks down data and that’s all. Mish definitely has a major leg up on Wolf, in that regard.
Congress won’t do shit – because people don’t want them to. I agree that nobody voted for Musk. If he has some good ideas, Trump should incorporate them into whatever budget he proposes. He won’t.
Congress will wake up, or as we just saw in our elections, they will be removed. It doesn’t matter what the people you are referring to want, as they are the “What’s in it for ME” crowd, who are never, ever happy, and will never be happy.
This crowd ask for everything, and expect everything they ask for. If you’re a Parent that gives your kid ice cream, to shut them up, or buy them candy while shopping to keep them quiet, then YOU, as an analogy, are the problem! Keeping Groups of Citizens happy is the worst thing you can do. It causes others to want theirs too. You end up with pockets of people happy, pockets of people disgruntled, pockets of people pissed off Etc. Make “Blanket Policy” and people will get used to it or not, but they won’t complain any longer, as they are all in it together, with no favored classes like today!!
Run the damn Country, and stop worrying about whose feelings you may or may not hurt! Enough of trying to please everyone, and not pleasing anyone…
Again, I’m 100% onboard with Trump ditching Musk. The sooner the better. DOGE is a good idea, but if they’re handcuffed from looking at the economic effects of H1-B visas, then they’re a half-baked stooge crew, IMHO.
Yes, I’m sure I’m very close to being banned from Wolf’s website. He’s an absolute censor pr!ck. I’m not using bad language. I rarely respond to another’s post, so I’m not breaking any of his community guidelines, except he simply can’t handle someone calling out Powell for un-necessarily cutting the FFR. He seems to think that Powell is right on target which may be the case, if we find ourselves in a real recession by the end of 2025. TBD.
But that’s not all that likely, if Trump doesn’t cut spending, which I really doubt he’s going to do in his first year. Instead, he’s going to ask for $100B+ of unfunded monies to start detaining & deporting illegals which is great. But it isn’t going to be cheap or non-controversial.
How about this Trump? Just cut SS taxes from 85% to 50% and let people who work for tips keep the first $2,400 they make for free and stop? There, you’ve mostly fulfilled a campaign promise. And everyone knows the Unitparty is going to re-up the 2017 tax cuts, most likely making them permanent.
You were right on top of this immediately Mish, and spot on as it seems. I would be very happy with what your original work implied, of $630B, and would even be happy with $500B to be honest. This is fairly quick cuts, if I recall correctly, so realized rapidly correct?
Can any cuts of things not mentioned apply? I know it may take a lot to reach the big$ but just to toss it out there…
No longer reimburse things that they do today?
> Take Gas Mileage for example. Only if it is absolutely necessary, and absolutely no Government Transportation can be found, and it’s signed off by somebody in Upper Management. Also you can only have a set amount of Travel Reimbursed, per week/month/year no exceptions.
> Take Travel Expenses, in theory, for example. Only if it is absolutely necessary, and absolutely no Government Housing can be found, and it’s signed off by somebody in Upper Management. Also you can only have a set amount of Travel Expenses Reimbursed, in theory, per week/month/year no exceptions.
> Apply this type of “Theory” to “Everything” possible, and “Wherever” possible. Things Like Food Expense (lower amounts, and only for You), and Entertainment Expenses do the same thing. Cut Education amounts, create a daycare in house program for larger government offices, Cut Out all investment plans, and go to Only 401K type plans 100%.
Are there enough to pick from, to make a difference? Has it been done already? Should we do it again? I say leave no stone unturned. Should we cut Vision/dental and only allow “Medical Government Run Healthcare Plans”. CAP tuition reimbursement amounts to a lower/mid-level degree only. Etc. “For ALL Government Employees” No Exceptions…
We must cut, and so we will, so just trying to think outside the box. Make Government A LOT more like the Private Sector, if you will…
The entire budget should be considered discretionary EXCEPT for the interest on the debt. Everything else needs to be on the table. We have to pay the interest or default. The constitution does not require any entitlement spending, nor does it require a specific amount for things like defense. It is all up for review.
You are aware that peoples’ (voters) lives often depend on all that “fat” you want to cut, right?
Plenty of jobs available out there…
Fred, don’t run for president : )
In Washingtonland, cutting $2 trillion means not increasing by $2 trillion.
LA Mayor Karen Bass has fired LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley just hours after Crowley said city leadership “failed” the fire department.
What the hell, Karen? You fired our first openly gay, DEI hire Fire Chief. This is BS!
Okay, wait. At least it’s an improvement over the Brandon Administration where NOBODY was held accountable for all sorts of bad . . .
It’s a start. Fire the lesbians! Also the bi’s!
How about just fire everyone who’s incompetent no matter what their race or gender is?
That would be a start. And it turns out, she hasn’t been fired.
No surprise there. Just wishful thinking.
That’s sad. I watched Crowley get interrogated by a FOX 11 reporter and she sounded to be a competent administrator. She had documents lined up on the table showing all the times that she had written of the problems the budget cuts caused.
OTOH, it’s bad practice to bite the hand that feeds you.
Don’t go along to get along “Get Fired”
Go along and rubber stamp Anything & Everything “Get Promoted”
Our current Government operational prowess hard at work…
Cant wait to see our New Government hard at actual work!!!
Turns out this was a false report.
Government is the enemy of The People. Cuts can be found.
Wealth does not make you smart. Wealth is inherited, wealth is the result of luck, wealth is stealing other peoples ideas and running with them. Dont mistake wealth for some kind of superhuman thinking. Math is still math.
sometimes. wealth is also savings and investment. You are too simplistic
Not the wealth you see on TV .. or Fox News … good wealth is silent wealth
Real wealth is spiritual wealth, the only wealth you can take with you.
Success is eliminating multiple agencies, eliminating automatic 10% increase in government functions, reduce healthcare costs via a number of onerous regulations, purchasing policies and legal liabilities, and a number of welfare transfers.
Maybe DOGE and Congress should revisit the Grace commission report that identified 10% cut without eliminating any agencies in a much smaller government
Perfection is the enemy of progress. I’d be thrilled with 500 billion. It’s a statement and a move in the right direction. Of course I’m willing to cut entitlements but the country is not ready for that it seems.
Elon was fully aware that cutting $2 trillion was unrealistic. To be fair, he never claimed he would cut exactly $2 trillion; he said he would cut at least $2 trillion.LOL No one seems to care about facts anymore. If Trump and Elon announced that people could walk on the Atlantic Ocean, it wouldn’t be long before at least 50 people tried—and drowned—attempting to walk on water. Would they even care about dying? I doubt it. Welcome to the new world.
With long-term interest rates rising, the US may soon enough find itself in a fiscal trap, where interest rates rise because of perceptions of fiscal doom, and perceptions of fiscal doom rise because of rising interest rates. Other countries have been there; time for the US to get real.
Zero percent rates eliminate the debt trap. And whose to say if interest rates really control inflation at all? Inflation was caused by oil supply in the 1970s and interference in capitalism — with crony capitalism and reduction in competitors etc. Whether we like it or not, interest rates under Trump will disappear, and debt will just remain a fact of life.
You keep repeating this. It makes no sense. The Fed is not under him and if anything is against him….plus they don’t control long rates as you have just witnessed.
My foolish little midnight 🙂 … you either work for Trump and do exactly what he says or youre gone (we elected a proto-dictator). And there are several ways to control long rates. Dont believe the nonsense that the Fed only controls short rates. They control it all (operation twist, etc), and have very smart people working for them who can make sunny days turn into rainy days. Read up.
Please remember you keep posting this. We can keep receipts on this. Will be as bad as your calls on the election.
My new mortgage in January of 2021 was and is 3.5%. That was not a natural number formed by market forces. Someone or something drove the mortgages down to that rate, and that was and is a 30 year (long term) rate. Yes, Im confident. Trump and his minions will demand low interest rates, as well as the Federal govt., and every other government and corporation, worldwide, which has to service $300+ trillion in debt. (And Biden should have won!)
The Fed doesnt control long rates totally but they can and have “bought” with money created out of thin air which debases the dollar, trillions in long bonds, which substantially represses interest rates needed to attract buyers. But for a few years now, theyve been letting more bonds roll off than they “buy”, which reduces some if the dollars they printed into existence.
ZIRP fuels malinvestment and inflation.
And enriches the top .1%
120%+ debt to GDP
Albert, I don’t agree with just about anything you have to say, but hell has frozen over and you, my dear Mishtalk.com friend, may be onto something here.
Great post!
Yup. This sucker’s going parabolic.
Well said!
And Trump acted like he was going to lower the price of groceries and everything else. Now he’s talking about taking over Greenland and the Panama Canal, which I never heard him talk about during the campaign. Maybe you’d better consult Catturd and find out what’s really going to happen here.
This is Trump being Trump, and this is what the country wants. We need to get used to it. He should invade Cuba too. He could at least lower Cuban Cigar prices.
I hadn’t wanted to invade Greenland, but I’m warming up to it. We finally found a war we might stand a chance at winning – if we haven’t given all our ammo to the Ukraine.
It would be terrible to invade a peaceful country that hasnt wronged anyone and the perpetrators would definitely pay the price for the wrongs they commit. Its totally against real American values of truth and justice and goodwill to all.