Welcome to the third podcast in the “Is It Too Late?” series.
Many people, myself included, feel like the United States is headed in the wrong direction. As in disastrously wrong. I wonder what kind of a world we are leaving for future generations…especially when it comes to the financial situation of the U.S.
Some, like Ray Dalio, have said that we’re already past the point of no return. All that’s left is for the U.S. to experience either a severe debt crisis or a currency crisis, and possibly both.
Today’s guest is noted economist Richard Werner, who caught my interest for this series when he appeared on the Tucker Carlson show and said that there’s possibly a path out of this mess. It involves redirecting government deficit spending (and “QE”) toward productive enterprises.
Is it feasible? Can it be done?
In this podcast, Richard Werner argues that America’s approximately $40 trillion national debt is on an exponential trajectory that is fundamentally unsustainable without major changes to spending, economic growth, or debt management.
Cutting to the chase, this seems unlikely given the current crop of political players and their addiction to reckless spending and uneconomic policies and programs.
Everything of late, especially including the centralization of banking into fewer and fewer behemoths, is working against a return to widespread economic prosperity.
One sour note for me was Richard’s soft promotion of the idea of abiotic oil possibly being a major factor that hasn’t been given proper attention. If I ever get an hour of Richard’s time on the topic, I am sure I can help clear that up; abiotic oil is just not a significant part of the story.
We also discussed digital currencies, the petrodollar, and the looming Treasury yield crisis that seems to be brewing.
I did not come away with a clear answer as to whether there’s a realistic chance of turning off the path we’re on, so for now I am going to stick with my old maxim: a body in motion will remain in motion.
In other words, the trajectory we’re on is the path.
And that path leads to financial and monetary chaos.
Timestamps
00:00 The Promise of Peace and Prosperity
01:38 Is America’s $40 Trillion Debt Sustainable?
04:12 The Economic Importance of Small Banks
11:24 Stablecoins and the Future of Dollar Debt
17:38 The Debt Trap and the Inflation Escape Route
23:56 How Banks Create Money and Fuel Bubbles
34:34 The Threat of Central Bank Digital Control
36:33 Energy, Economic Growth, and the Limits of Resources
42:00 The Petrodollar, War, and Dollar Dominance
53:07 What Happens When Treasury Yields Explode?
59:17 Japan’s Economic Warning for America
1:06:28 Is the United States Approaching a Breaking Point?
by cmartenson