From $1 Trillion, to $30 Trillion - Quickly

In December of 1980, the Reagan administration inherited?$846 billion in public debt, which had been?accumulated over 190 years by 39 presidents. The growth of this debt was already surging within days of the Reagan inauguration.?

Accordingly, within a matter of just weeks there would be no choice but to ask Congress to raise the debt ceiling above the dreaded $1 trillion mark.

Some 41 years later, the public debt stands well above $30 Trillion!?

$30,000,000,000,000!

Have a look at the following chart, which represents the market value of the public debt from 1980-2022. (Source: Federal Reserve of Dallas)

Before 1970, the balance sheet at the Federal Reserve was about 5% of the public debt.?Early in the 2000s, that had inched up to 10%, or more, after Greenspan turned on the printing presses, which began about the end of 1987.

Does Congress "Kick The Can Down The Road"?

There seems to be no limit on what Congress will do with taxpayer money. The examples of this would fill a very large warehouse that had been built to archive the paper evidence of wasteful spending over decades.

Of course, taxpayer money is but a fraction of the funds which are doled out to an endless array of waste by Congress.?And that is why that national debt has risen to such a staggering number.

Why Not Just Have A Balanced Budget?

Over 10 years ago, Walter E. Williams?had this to say, in part:?

"A balanced budget amendment is no protection against the growth of government and the loss of our liberties. Estimated federal tax revenue for 2011 is $2.2 trillion and federal spending is $3.8 trillion leaving us with a $1.6 trillion deficit.?

The budget could be balanced simply by taking more of our earnings, making us greater congressional serfs.?True protection requires an amendment limiting congressional spending".

The question we have to ask is simple; "What effect does this limitless spending have on assets we are managing today, and how should that management adjust going forward?"

"The measure of intelligence is the ability to?change" -?Albert Einstein