Apocalypse Now? Statist Paul Krugman Says There’s No Real Risk To The Dollar Unless The US Defaults On Its Debt ($187 TRILLION In Unfunded Liabilites That Keep Growing Requiring MORE Debt)

The Federal government in Washington DC is broken beyond repair. Politicians get elected by promising free or cheap things, so they keep delivering the bacon. Or pork to political donors. The top 1% get massive payoffs (like green energy subsidies or bank bailouts), the bottom 99% get out of control entitlements like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. And other unsustainable entitlements. In fact, student loans are now an entitlement since some voters will vote for the corrupt politician (no, Joe Biden isn’t the only corrupt politician in Washington DC) who will forgive their student loans.

In fact, we now have $187 TRILLION in UNFUNDED liabilities that were promised to the 99%. The 1% will always get their political contributions paid. Biden and Schumer have promised their donor class trillions in spending, so that are threatening to let the US debt default to protect the 1%.

And unfunded entitlements are expected to soar, particularly Medicare.

Mandatory spending is expected to soar while discretionary spending is almost flat in terms of growth.

Meanwile, the US credit default swap remains elevated as the US Treasury short curve (2Y-3M) is near the most inverted in history.

And this headline, “Biden Not Ready Yet to Invoke 14th Amendment to Avoid US Default”. That means Biden would adopt extraordinary powers to prevent a debt default. Hence, the idiocy like the trillion dollar coin.

Nobel Laureate and Statist useful idiot Paul Krugman wants to keep spending trillions. As a result, he argues “Don’t worry about the declining US dollar hegemony … as long as the US doesn’t default.” Translation: Krugman agrees with Dementia Joe that Republicans should just pass Biden’s budget with no strings attached. C’mon Krugman. The growth of BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa and growing) is partly due to 1) perceived weakness of Senile Grandpa Joe and 2) the fiscal spending and debt growth in Washington DC. Of course it matters, but Krugman wants to keep spending on green lunacy and entitlements until we break the back of the country. Sounds like Krugman is on board with Cloward-Piven.

They can’t cut promised entitlements. Look at France where Macron raised the retirement age by 2 years and there are endless riots. So debt default is the only option, though painful.

Will Congress and future administrations stop prominsing endless spending that benefits the 1%? Not likely. Our political system is hopelessly broken.

I am sure that China’s Communist Party has sent Dementia Joe a message “We own you! You better not default on what you owe us!!” Or default so we can own you financially.

Three of the four horsemen of the financial apocalypse. Yellen is the fourth horseman, but is too short to appear in the picture.

The Borg Identity! US Bank-Run Escalates, Deposit Outflows Top $360 Billion In Last 3 Weeks (Fed Rate Hikes To Combat Inflation Is Crushing Regional Banks)

Yes, the banking system under green zealots and spendiholics Biden, Pelosi and Schumer have helped drive inflation to 40 years highs leading The Fed to counterattack and raise interest rates and slow M2 Money supply.

The result? As Bank of America analysts said. Fed tightening ‘always breaks something’. And in this case it is regional and community banks. Or as BofA’s Harnett said, “The Fed Hiked Until It Broke The Regional Banks”.

Despite the attempts from The Fed and Treasury Secretary Janet “The Evil Hobbit” Yellen to mollify depositors, bank deposits contine to sink.

And they are sinking faster at smaller banks than larger banks.

Meanwhile, FDIC bridge loans are exploding in terms of useage.

We all know Biden gets bought off by China and big corporate America. Like The Borg (our Too-Big-Too-Fail or TBTF banks).

The Highlander Banking System: PacWest Says in Talks With Potential Partners After Share Plunge (But Powell Promise That The Banking Crisis Is Close To Over)

As Connor MacLeod said in the film Highlander, “There can only be one!” The US banking system under Joe Biden’s Reign of Error is like the film Highlander: apparently, there can only be one bank. And it is likely JP Morgan Chase.

Take the JP Morgan Chase (JPMC) acquisition of First Republic Bank:

In Acquiring First Republic Bank, JP Morgan Has:

  1. Bypassed laws against acquiring bank while controlling 10%+ of US deposits
  2. Shared $13 billion in losses with the FDIC
  3. Received a $50 billion loan from the FDIC
  4. Effectively bought back its own deposits
  5. Expects to profit $5 billion+ over the next 5 years

This crisis has taught us that rules don’t matter in times of panic, particularly to regulators.

And now we have PacWest Bancorp. Lender says it’s been approached by potential investors. Bill Ackman warns US regional banking system at risk.

The turmoil at PacWest shows how investor angst still remains elevated after a string of failures and deposit outflows in the sector despite Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s assurance Wednesday that authorities were closer to containing the crisis. It’s reignited the debate over whether more US regional lenders will fall after this year’s collapse of SVB Financial Group’s Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Capital Corp., Signature Bank and most recently First Republic Bank.

Smaller banks are under pressure after a year of interest-rate hikes hammered the value of their bond holdings and drove unrealized losses to an estimated $1.84 trillion. Trouble in commercial real estate is adding to the pain, while depositors take their money out to seek better returns elsewhere. These stresses have put the spotlight on these lenders, which typically have fewer resources to defend themselves.

We are seeing a consolidation of the banking system .. again as smaller and regional banks fail and get gobbled up by the Too-Big-To-Fail (TBTF) banks like … JP Morgan Chase.

Biden’s Reign of Error is not over yet. His campaign slogan (which was also Bill Clinton’s campaign reelection slogan) is “Finish the job!” With Biden’s idiotic mortgage idea of punishing borrowers with good credit and giving subsidies to those with bad credit, Biden is trying to finish off the US economy and banking system.

We are in for more hell.

US Mortgage Demand Declines 1.2% From Last Week, Purchase Demand Still Down -32% From Same Week Last Year While Refi Demand Down -51% YoY

This is last data dump for mortgage demand (applications) before Biden’s idiotic woke mortgage policies go into effect (taxing those with good credit to subsidize those with lousy credit) take effect. I call this Bolshevik Biden’s Mortgage Market.

Mortgage applications decreased 1.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 28, 2023.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 0.4 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 1 percent from the previous week and was 51 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 32 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

Bolshevik Biden.

The United Banana Republics Of America! US Credit Default Swap (CDS) Price Hits 176.53 As Debt Default Looms

Thanks to O’Biden (Obama/Biden) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s failure to negotiate a debt ceiling increase, the US has officially become a banana republic. Crazy government, lawless censoring and arrest of opposing political candidates.

The US CDS 1Y SR Eur just hit a staggering 176.53. That is the price of insuring against a debt default by O’Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Is a US debt default likely? It shouldn’t be. But you never know with the circus clowns in the White House and nasty Chuck Schumer. But arresting the leading Republican Presidential candidate before the elections is pure Chavez/Maduro Banana Republic politics.

2 year Treasury yield up over 11 basis points today.

The Core! US March Core PCE Prices Remain HOT At 4.6% YoY Despite Fed Crashing M2 Money Growth, March Personal Spending Slows To 0% MoM (Taylor Rule Suggests 10.27% Target Rate)

March’s Personal Consumption Expenditures Core Prices remain HOT despite The Fed crashing M2 Money growth. PCE Core price growth remained elevated at 4.6%.

Personal spending in March slowed to 0% growth.

The Taylor Rule infers a Fed Funds target rate of 10.27% Alas, we will never get there.

How Bad Are Things Under Biden? US Credit Default Swaps At 162 While Peru And Mexico Are At Under 30 (US Worse Than Third World Nations)

US House Speaker passed on a budget to the US Senate to avoid a US debt default. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schuner said “DOA” and Biden refuses to negotiate with McCarthy. Hence, the US Credit Default Swap 1Y rose to 162 today.

For comparison sake, Peru and Mexico are at under 30. How pathetic is that?

Biden’s Reign of Error is only getting worse. That is why he is Clueless Joe!

Is That All There Is? US GDP Grows At A Pathetic 1.1% QoQ Rate Despite Massive Spending Spree By Biden, Gross Private Domestic Investment Crashes By -12.5% QoQ (Bad Return On $3.37 TRILLION In Spending)

Crooner Peggy Lee said it best: Is that all there is?

Unfortunately, US GDP grew at a pathetic 1.1% QoQ.

Official estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show that, since January 2021, legislation signed by President Biden has set in motion a record $3.37 trillion in new spending. And for all that spending, we get a pathetic 1.1% QoQ growth rate?

Inflation continues to be 4% QoQ despite M2 Money growth collapsing.

Gross private domestic investment crashed by -12.5% QoQ.

This is Biden’s idea of a strong economy? His lame campaign slogan is “Let’s finish the job!” Please don’t Joe!

And take Janet “The Evil Hobbit” with you!

Wasting Away In Bidenville! US Mortgage Demand Rises 3.7% Since Last Week (WoW), But Mortgage Purchase Demand Remains -28% Lower Than Last Year (YoY) While Mortage Refi Demand Is -51% Lower

Wasting away again in Bidenville. Nibblin’ on ice cream. Watching the economy boil. Particularly mortgage demand.

Mortgage applications increased 3.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 21, 2023.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 2 percent from the previous week and was 51 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 5 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 6 percent compared with the previous week and was 28 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

Gov’t Gone Wild! The Biden Administration’s Budget Hypocrisy, Federal Spending Out Of Control (What About The $187 TRILLION In UNFUNDED Liabilities?)

James Carter (no, not Mr. Peanut, the smart one at America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Prosperity) had a nice op-ed on American Thinker entitled “The Biden Administration’s Budget Hypocrisy.”

The Biden administration’s claims of deficit reduction come in stark contrast to the president and his team, having added $4.8 trillion to the deficit through 2031.

You might call anyone uttering such claims a hypocrite. As Adlai Stevenson, the grandfather of the future Illinois governor and two-time presidential candidate of the same name, reportedly quipped: “A hypocrite is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump and make a speech for conservation.” Sounds about right.

Why does this matter? It matters because President Joe Biden fancies himself a champion of deficit reduction. As he bragged in a “60 Minutes” interview last month, “By the way, we’ve also … reduced the deficit by $350 billion my first year. This year, it’s going to be over $1.5 trillion, reduced the debt.”

But the president’s attempts to redefine his reckless spending as deficit reduction don’t end there. According to The Washington Post, “Just in the week before the 60 Minutes interview, the president mentioned having reduced the budget deficit by $350 billion six times, sometimes saying he wants to counter accusations that he’s running up the federal tab.” (emphasis added)

What the president fails to mention, however, is that this near-term deficit reduction has nothing to do with him or his administration. Instead, it’s the result of emergency COVID-19 spending that is now ending as planned.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, points out what the Biden administration is loath to admit:

“The White House has been trying to paint President Biden as the champion of prudent economic stewardship. Biden’s ‘record on fiscal responsibility is second to none,’ it asserts. As temporary covid measures end — and record-high deficits predictably decline — the administration is congratulating itself for that supposed achievement.

But the administration’s record is, sadly, the opposite of what it argues. Since entering office, the president has approved policies adding $4.8 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. This is an extraordinary sum, which makes it all the more astonishing that the administration would try to pull off this claim.”

According to the Office of Management and Budget, even if the 117th Congress had enacted the Biden administration’s fiscal year 2023 budget in its entirety, net interest costs would more than triple from $352 billion in 2021 to $1.1 trillion by 2032. Is a tripling of future net interest costs something typically associated with an administration committed to tackling the federal budget deficit? No.

President Biden’s rhetoric aside, his mid-session budget review forecasts endless $1 trillion-plus annual deficits totaling more than $14 trillion over the coming decade. Even adjusted for inflation, these deficits would be among the largest ever generated by the federal government. Is that “fiscally responsible?” No.

President Biden is not serious about reducing the deficit. He claims progress on the deficit but obscures the facts that every American should know.

Not only does President Biden fail to try to balance the budget, but he actively pursues policies that he must know will balloon federal spending and deficits.

No, but Biden and Congress are serious about bankrupting the US Treasury and moving to a Socialist model.

And what even James Carter doesn’t mention is the staggering levels of UNFUNDED LIABILITIES of $187 TRILLION. The question for Biden is …. how are deficits and the massive debt going to play out when we are on the hook for $187 TRILLION?

I am sure that Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and The Squad will suggest much higher taxes to cover it. And remember, Biden was the idiot that helped taxed Social Security for seniors. And he has also worked towards cutting Social Security and Medicare in the past.

The only out is 1) default on the US debt which would be catestophic and 2) renegging on the massive unfunded liability load. Remember, France is rioting over raising their retirement age by 2 years. Let’s see if Americans riot over inevitable cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Cut mandatory spending without riots? Please.

The theme song of Biden’s insane, economy destroying, inflation creating budget should be “Keep on printing!”

Yes, this is Government Gone Wild! But no pics or videos of ancient Congress members like Warren or President Biden, please.