National Debt

Barack Obama and the Federal Reserve are lying to you. The "economic recovery" that we all keep hearing about is mostly just a mirage...  For those out there that still believe that we are doing "just fine", here are 19 more facts about the messed up state of the U.S. economy.

Many nations have gone through periods in the past where they've had very high levels of government debt. There are four traditional ways of dealing with that... decades of austerity, defaulting on government debts, inflating away the value of debt by rapidly destroying the value of currency, and government's favorite - "financial repression" - a process that is complex enough that the average voter never understands how it works, thus allowing governments to use this potent but subtle method of taking vast sums of private wealth, year after year, decade after decade, with almost no political consequences.

Most people that discuss the "economic collapse" focus on what is coming in the future.  And without a doubt, we are on the verge of some incredibly hard times.  But what often gets neglected is the immense permanent damage that has been done to the U.S. economy by the long-term economic collapse that we are already experiencing.  But because unprecedented levels of government debt and reckless money printing by the Federal Reserve have bought us a very short window of relative stability, most Americans don't seem too concerned about our long-term problems.  They seem to have faith that our "leaders" will be able to find a way to muddle through whatever challenges are ahead.  Hopefully the following 12 charts will be a wake up call.

You show me sustainable growth through monetization and I'll take my bat & ball and go home. Until then, you're blowing hot air up my backside.

The global debt levels have swollen to 200 year highs. Yep, 200 year highs!

The U.S. government is borrowing about 8 trillion dollars a year... The only way that this game can continue is if the U.S. government can continue to borrow gigantic piles of money at ridiculously low interest rates. And our current standard of living greatly depends on the continuation of this game. If something comes along and rattles this Ponzi scheme, life in America could change radically almost overnight.

As Warren Buffett himself once said, "If you’ve been playing poker for half an hour and you still don’t know who the patsy is, you're the patsy." The central bank bond market poker game has been in train for a good deal longer than half an hour, and the stakes have never been higher. Sometimes, if you simply can't fathom the new rules of the game, it's surely better not to play. But such madness is not limited to the world of bonds. Malign, unthinking mental slavery has fixed itself upon the equity markets, too. And as stock markets have powered ahead, index trackers have enjoyed their highest ever retail inflows.

When is the U.S. banking system going to crash? We can sum it up in three words. Watch the derivatives. It used to be only four, but now there are five "too big to fail" banks in the United States that each have more than 40 trillion dollars in exposure to derivatives.

What has happened to America?

The US national debt continues to spiral out of control, seemingly without any plan to ever rein it in. 

Compared to this time last year, the national debt has grown by over $1 trillion. At the end of September 2013, the cumulative debt stood at $16.74 trillion. Now it is over $17.76 trillion.

• -0.07%: Germany Secures Record Low Funding Cost at Bond Auction (WSJ)
• Pentagon Sees Possible Role for U.S. Ground Forces Against Islamic State Militants (WSJ)
• China Joins ECB in Adding Stimulus as Fed Scales Back (BBG)
• Stealthy or Normal? Analysts Diverge on PBOC’s Action (BBG)
• Sony Forecasts Massive $2B Loss as Smartphones Lag (AP)
• Islamic State campaign tests Obama's commitment to Mideast allies (Reuters)
• Brent Crude Rebounds as Libya’s Sharara Oilfield Shut (BBG)
• Market calm over Scottish vote at odds with disaster warnings (Reuters)

The idea that the Obama administration has the budget deficit under control is a complete and total lie.  The U.S. national debt has actually grown by more than a trillion dollars in less than 12 months.  We continue to wildly run up debt as if there is no tomorrow, and by doing so we are destroying the future of this nation.

In the wake of non-stop propaganda from politicians of both parties, as well as a mainstream media desperate for ratings, the American public is finally terrified enough to support another war in the Middle East. This is an unfortunate development... With just 6% of likely U.S. voters thinking Congress is doing a good or excellent job according to a recent Rasmussen poll, it’s no surprise to see so many of these corrupt clowns falling over one another to appear tough on ISIS, using myriad hyperbolic and Orwellian statements.

For those just catching up on the main news event of the weekend, namely the sudden surge in Scotland "Yes" vote polling surpassing 50% for the first time, here is a complete round up of the background, updates and expert reactions from RanSquawk, Bloomberg and AFP.

Sterling fell sharply yesterday as traders became nervous of a possible vote for Scottish independence. The referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom takes place on Thursday 18th September. 

While the referendum and the potential impact of an independent Scotland have been on the horizon for some time, the approaching vote in two weeks is causing upheaval for the British pound in currency markets, and also more general macro uncertainty in the regional economic and monetary system.