Households Get It, Even if Governments Don’t

President Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill will add trillions to the federal debt.

We’re critical of that debt being frontloaded – especially at a time when interest rates are at their highest level in nearly 15 years.

Fortunately, your average American household has gotten the memo.

Today’s relatively high interest rates – essentially the cost of capital – have consumers avoiding debt. And rising asset prices, including homes and 401(k) plans, are actually improving consumer finances:

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American households continue to deleverage

Of course, that’s just on average.

We know many consumers continue to live paycheck to paycheck. After spiking higher, the drawdown in savings—cash that can be used in an emergency—is back to pre-pandemic levels.

While the overall debt picture is ugly, in some ways it isn’t – and that it may take some more time for a debt crisis to reach a kitchen countertop near you.

~ Addison

MAJOR Gold Tipping Point Predicted

Gold has already taken Wall Street by surprise…

During Trump’s first term, it shot up by 53%.

And it has crushed the market nearly 3-to-1 since the start of the 21st century.

But that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what one expert expects gold to do next…

$22,227 an ounce.

Why such a huge jump? Because of the three simple charts shown right here.

P.S. President Trump is on fire this week, adding tariffs on copper and threatening higher rates on trade partners like Canada. And targeting Vietnam as the proxy for Chinese manufacturing.

Markets are usually calm and trend higher in July, but as a centerpiece of President Trump’s Great Reset plan, we’re expecting more volatility. There’s nothing run-of-the-mill about the economy or politics right now.

With the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting all-new historic highs again yesterday, we suggest deleveraging your brokerage account, too. Take some profits off the table.

Or, as our friend and mentor Bill Bonner would say on an occasion like this: “Panic now. Avoid the rush.”

As always, your reader feedback is welcome: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com (We read all emails. Thanks in advance for your contribution.)

President Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill will add trillions to the federal debt.

We’re critical of that debt being frontloaded – especially at a time when interest rates are at their highest level in nearly 15 years.

Fortunately, your average American household has gotten the memo.

Turn Your Images On

American households continue to deleverage

Of course, that’s just on average.

We know many consumers continue to live paycheck to paycheck. After spiking higher, the drawdown in savings—cash that can be used in an emergency—is back to pre-pandemic levels.

While the overall debt picture is ugly, in some ways it isn’t – and that it may take some more time for a debt crisis to reach a kitchen countertop near you.

~ Addison

MAJOR Gold Tipping Point Predicted

Gold has already taken Wall Street by surprise…

During Trump’s first term, it shot up by 53%.

And it has crushed the market nearly 3-to-1 since the start of the 21st century.

But that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what one expert expects gold to do next…

$22,227 an ounce.

Why such a huge jump? Because of the three simple charts shown right here.

P.S. President Trump is on fire this week, adding tariffs on copper and threatening higher rates on trade partners like Canada. And targeting Vietnam as the proxy for Chinese manufacturing.

With the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting all-new historic highs again yesterday, we suggest deleveraging your brokerage account, too. Take some profits off the table.

Or, as our friend and mentor Bill Bonner would say on an occasion like this: “Panic now. Avoid the rush.”

As always, your reader feedback is welcome: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com (We read all emails. Thanks in advance for your contribution.)

The empire is in decline. Demographics, regulatory tightening, fake money and the mis-allocation of trillions of dollars (much of it on pointless wars) have sapped the vitality of the economy. The Federal government gets bigger and bigger, but there is no longer enough output to pay for it.

The interest on the debt alone takes more more than a trillion dollars a year. The US faces a financial crisis. And for the first time in history, our children face a poorer future.

The welfare state model no longer works; the center — consensual democracy — wobbles towards the extremes. What to do? Beat our plowshares into swords?

A separate University of Chicago poll warned that political interference would push up U.S. borrowing costs and raise risk premia on government debt.

And yet, trust is draining away.

In 2001, amid the turmoil of the tech wreck meltdown on Wall Street, Gallup found 74% of Americans had confidence Alan Greenspan would “do the right thing.”

In 2025, only 37% say the same of Jerome Powell. For the first time since Trump and Powell shared the stage, more Americans trust Trump than Powell to steer the economy.

That does not bode well for Fed independence.

The government spent more than half of the money again, as much as it earned last month. Imagine how long spending like that would last if it were your family budget.

As Bitcoin’s price has risen, it now trades for around $115,000, MicroStrategy’s stock has experienced an even greater parabolic rise.

Today the company, renamed Strategy, has a market cap of $103 billion – and investors have seen returns of more than 2,400% in a little over 5 years.

It’s one of the greatest growth stories of recent years and one that almost nobody could have seen coming.

For anyone who has ridden the MicroStrategy gravy train, congratulations.

And for those who missed it, I believe you could have a rare second chance.

The interest on the debt alone takes more more than a trillion dollars a year. The US faces a financial crisis. And for the first time in history, our children face a poorer future.

The welfare state model no longer works; the center — consensual democracy — wobbles towards the extremes. What to do? Beat our plowshares into swords?

A separate University of Chicago poll warned that political interference would push up U.S. borrowing costs and raise risk premia on government debt.

And yet, trust is draining away.

In 2001, amid the turmoil of the tech wreck meltdown on Wall Street, Gallup found 74% of Americans had confidence Alan Greenspan would “do the right thing.”

In 2025, only 37% say the same of Jerome Powell. For the first time since Trump and Powell shared the stage, more Americans trust Trump than Powell to steer the economy.

That does not bode well for Fed independence.

The government spent more than half of the money again, as much as it earned last month. Imagine how long spending like that would last if it were your family budget.

As Bitcoin’s price has risen, it now trades for around $115,000, MicroStrategy’s stock has experienced an even greater parabolic rise.

Today the company, renamed Strategy, has a market cap of $103 billion – and investors have seen returns of more than 2,400% in a little over 5 years.

It’s one of the greatest growth stories of recent years and one that almost nobody could have seen coming.

For anyone who has ridden the MicroStrategy gravy train, congratulations.

And for those who missed it, I believe you could have a rare second chance.