Buckle up as I've got a lot to share with you today!
The national debt problem is out of control. We discussed this during our first Tucson AZ Money meetup along with the data provided at https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/
Now, the situation is getting even worse! Early this month the US Government hit a new level of insanity with an increase of $275 billion added to the debt in a single day! Let me repeat that...IN A SINGLE DAY!!!
https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/17 ... dium=email
The US is now on track to add $1 trillion to the national debt in a single month. If you're going to choose a word to describe this, I would pick UNSUSTAINABLE.
It is imperative that we take the necessary steps to address this debt bubble and focus on creating a more sustainable economy that is not solely reliant on debt financing. Failure to do so will only exacerbate the current economic challenges and lead to further long-term consequences and debasement of our purchasing power as depicted in the chart below.
The United States now has $33.442 trillion in debt. We have not run a budget surplus since 2001, which means we have had 22 years of mismanagement, regardless of which political party is in power.
This month, the House of Representatives voted to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy via a "motion to vacate". The noticed stated that McCarthy had not upheld his promises to the American people, part of which included a pledge to pass legislation to raise the nation’s debt ceiling — on the condition of capping future federal spending at one percent.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/1 ... bt-ceiling
In the previous year, the federal government amassed $4.9 trillion in revenue but disbursed a total of $6.27 trillion, resulting in a budgetary shortfall of $1.38 trillion, ranking as the fourth-largest deficit of the 21st century.
Not all of the politicians are asleep at the wheel though. Earlier this week, in a story that went largely uncovered, Indiana Congresswoman Victoria Spartz threatened to resign unless a national debt commission is formed. Here was part of her statement:
"If Congress does not pass a debt commission this year to move the needle on the crushing national debt and inflation, at least at the next debt ceiling increase at the end of 2024, I will not continue sacrificing my children for this circus with a complete absence of leadership, vision, and spine. I cannot save this Republic alone”.
I don't know about you but I can certainly relate to this sentiment, especially when it comes to protecting mine and my families wealth.
The problem is just starting though. High interest rates are creating a VERY NEGATIVE feedback loop of high interest payments on the national debt. According to Scarlet Fu at Bloomberg:
“The US government is currently spending more to pay interest on its $33 trillion national debt than it does on national defense, according to the US Treasury’s monthly statement. In the current fiscal year through August, the Treasury has spent $807.84 billion in interest on its debt securities. The Department of Defense’s outlay for military programs totaled $695.44 billion in the same period.”
Spending more money on interest payments than the defense budget seems outrageous. Unfortunately, it appears that a perpetual deficit is the name of the game for the government.
One day the music will stop and the global sovereign debt bubble will pop.
To emphasize this point further, U.S. Treasuries were once widely regarded as the safest place to invest due to the rock-solid creditworthiness of the United States government. This confidence stems from the government's ability to levy taxes and print currency, ensuring a consistent stream of revenue to meet its debt obligations, but as we've been discussing, this is no longer true.
But don't take my word for it!
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) is a committee of banking supervisory authorities that was established by the central bank governors of the Group of Ten (G10) countries in 1974. The committee comprises central banks and bank supervisors from 28 jurisdictions. The mandate of the BCBS is to strengthen the regulation, supervision, and practices of banks worldwide with the purpose of enhancing financial stability.
Just recently the BCBS issued a statement that, "By the Basel Committee's own definitions, US Treasury bonds no longer meet the standard for high qualify liquid assets".
https://www.euromoney.com/article/2bfif ... rage-ratio
Why is this happening now?
I believe we're in the middle of what's called a "Fourth Turning" which I wrote about in this blog article.
https://tief.substack.com/p/evidence-of ... g-prophecy
According to the book, a Fourth Turning refers to a cyclical pattern of historical cycles that occur approximately every 80 to 100 years. The authors argue that these turnings are characterized by distinct societal moods, challenges, and transformations.
In the authors' framework, a crisis turning represents a tumultuous and transformative period in which society faces significant challenges and undergoes profound changes. This is a time when old systems, institutions, and values are questioned and often replaced by new ones. Crises can be triggered by a range of factors, such as economic recessions, social upheaval, or geopolitical conflicts, and they tend to reshape the course of history.
People are waking up to the idea that traditional banking as we know it is going the way of the Dodo....Extinct. In 1920, there were approximately 25,000 banks in the United States. Today, there are about 5,000 banks in the United States.
As the old saying goes, “no one is coming to save you.” You have to start thinking about how you will save, invest, and drive income in a world with an ever-increasing national debt. This is exactly why we are so passionate about Bitcoin and Microcurrencies which can provide an escape from the perpetual debasement of our money by irresponsible government action.
As many of you already know, we here at AZ Money are not trying to skirt around the government. The Microcurrencies whitepaper is a document that outlines the vision of AZ Money.
Here's a section from the opening paragraph of this paper,
"A microcurrency is decentralized money distributed within a local region with the eventual integration into local law and technologically implemented as a Bitcoin sidechain". The whitepaper is attached it to this email for your convenience!
The key is for people to understand where AZ Money has to go to fulfil its purpose, which is eventual integration into local law. Otherwise, it's going to just be another crypto.
Lucky for us, Arizona is already thinking about integrating cryptocurrencies into law. Wendy Rogers, a Senator from Arizona, has introduced a bill to make Bitcoin a legal tender in the state of Arizona. The bill, named "S.B. 1127 State agencies; payments; cryptocurrency", would allow state agencies to accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method of fines, civil and other penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue, financial obligations, and "special assessments" due to the state.
The bill defines cryptocurrencies as any form of digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of monies, operating independently of a central bank.
https://www.kgun9.com/news/state/new-se ... in-arizona
AZ Money was launched to help inspire a local community to adopt an interdependent monetary, banking, and governmental system that honors and protects the fullness of individual liberty without exception. We must join arms in changing the way we think about banking that is why it's important to share this with your network of friends and family.
Banks are an absolutely essential service. The solution to this conundrum starts by embracing Liberty where anyone can open and operate financial services WITHOUT permission, then hold those that have operated such services dishonestly accountable! This simple change moves much of the responsibility to ensure honest banking from the government back to the people.
I encourage you to check out the microcurrencies white paper, which establishes the key foundational elements for a local system that runs on hardmoney and honest banking with individual liberty prioritized always.
Join the AZ Money discussion on Telegram: https://t.me/+Rkln1HlMSCViNTdh