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U.S.-Canada relations haven\u2019t been this strained in my lifetime. Like everyone else, I\u2019m at the grocery store on the weekend checking labels, looking for Canadian products.<\/p>\nU.S.-Canada relations haven\u2019t been this strained in my lifetime. Like everyone else, I\u2019m at the grocery store on the weekend checking labels, looking for Canadian products.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not a fan of the chaos spinning out of the U.S. administration\u2019s trade negotiations. However, when it comes to out-of-control government spending and debt, this is an issue that Western governments around the world need to address, especially now that the U.S. has first-mover advantage on addressing the issues that come from wasteful government spending.<\/p>\n
Please note that this is not a comment on the U.S. government\u2019s approach to the problem, this is a comment about the problem and the seriousness of the need to address it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve spent my career watching various money printing cycles play out, and if there\u2019s one thing that helps put it into perspective, it\u2019s satire.<\/p>\n
A Reminder From 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n Back in 2011, I had been advising people for more than a decade. The U.S. government had just finished doubling the money supply to bail out the nation\u2019s banks and, by extension, almost anything listed on the stock market. The flood of capital created massive tailwinds for financial services professionals and their clients.<\/p>\n As the debt ceiling was being debated, a colleague introduced me to a hilarious but painfully accurate video: Raise the Debt Ceiling Rap<\/a> by political-economic satirist Remy Munasifi.<\/p>\n This was three years after the financial crisis, when markets were still fragile, but those of us paying attention knew how the game worked\u2014massive government stimulus was making a lot of people, especially in finance, very wealthy.<\/p>\n In his rap, Remy summed it up perfectly:<\/p>\n “Fourteen trillion in debt but yo we ain’t got no qualms A few verses later came his real message:<\/p>\n “We’re gonna default if we follow this road! It was funny. It was clever. We laughed at the imagery of bankers buying cars, yachts, dancing at clubs and playing tennis.<\/p>\n Fast forward ten years, and nothing had changed\u2014except for the numbers.<\/p>\n 2021: Same Problem, Bigger Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nDroppin\u2019 $100 bills and billion-dollar bonds,
\nSpending money we don\u2019t have, that\u2019s the name of the game
\nThey call me cumulo nimbus because you KNOW I make it rain.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\nI should have thought of this 14 trillion dollars ago!”<\/em><\/p>\n