The U.S. unemployment rate once again ticked up in the month of June to 4.3 percent as another 352,000 Americans said they were unemployed, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Markets are crashing in response.
Read MoreTag: White House Office of Management and Budget
Commentary: The Next House Speaker Must Rein In Spending as Debt Set to Top $50 Trillion by 2033
When it comes to restoring fiscal balance, the next Speaker of the House will have his or her work cut out for them, as the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) projects the national debt will balloon to $50 trillion from its current $33.5 trillion by 2033 amid the current retirement wave, as Social Security goes from $1.3 trillion to $2.4 trillion and Medicare spirals from $821 billion to $1.8 trillion annually — and beyond.
Since the debt grows by about 8 percent a year on average once recessions and wars are factored in (both appear imminent), $100 trillion won’t be much further away, by 2037 or so, assuming we don’t default. In this generation’s lifetimes, for sure, if not the Baby Boomers’ who left the gargantuan debt behind.
Read MoreCommentary: Unemployment Remains Unchanged at 3.8 Percent as Record 11.1 Million Seniors Still Working
Labor markets appeared buoyed by still-working Baby Boomers in September as the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8 percent, with 296,000 seniors finding jobs in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ household survey.
With more than 11.1 million seniors still working — a national record — peak employment still abounds, even as a massive 47.21 million seniors are no longer in the labor force — also a record — amid the Baby Boomer retirement wave that has seen those 65-years-old-and-older not in the labor force have increased about 19 million the past 25 years.
Read MoreCommentary: Any Debt ‘Default’ Will Be Biden’s Choice
There’s enough revenue to pay interest on the debt even if the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling is reached.
Meaning, if the U.S. defaults on the debt on June 1, it will be because President Joe Biden chose not to make principal and interest payments on U.S. Treasuries out of existing revenue, for which there is more than ample revenues to service and refinance up to the current debt ceiling limit, $31.4 trillion.
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