The Big, Beautiful Deficit Is On Track

May 22, 2025 • 48 second read

The GOP’s “Big, Beautiful,” tax bill passed with a single-vote majority in the House. It now goes to the Senate, and, presumably, the President’s desk.

The bill, once law, will add about $5 trillion to the national debt, taking us over $40 trillion – and dangerously close to a 130% debt-to-GDP ratio.

How did we get here?

Turn Your Images On

It’s pretty simple how we got here: One vote at a time. While Congress has never won a popularity contest, in each district, your member of Congress has.

And over time, voters, many of whom end up paying no net taxes, get to weigh in on the government’s spending priorities.

The fact that the GOP couldn’t even codify the tens of billions in potential savings from DOGE, and had to increase the state and local tax (SALT) carveout, is a sign that the can is getting kicked down the road, even if that road ends with the country going over a cliff.

~ Addison

Ripple Effect

The Big, Beautiful Deficit Is On Track

Addison Wiggin

May 22, 2025 • 48 second read

debt deficit

The GOP’s “Big, Beautiful,” tax bill passed with a single-vote majority in the House. It now goes to the Senate, and, presumably, the President’s desk.

The bill, once law, will add about $5 trillion to the national debt, taking us over $40 trillion – and dangerously close to a 130% debt-to-GDP ratio.

How did we get here?

Turn Your Images On

It’s pretty simple how we got here: One vote at a time. While Congress has never won a popularity contest, in each district, your member of Congress has.

And over time, voters, many of whom end up paying no net taxes, get to weigh in on the government’s spending priorities.

~ Addison

The Debasement Trade, A Legacy

November 7, 2025 • James Hickman

Real assets in general tend to hold their value during inflationary periods — because they’re not just paper promises. They’re tangible. They’re productive. They’re the raw inputs the economy is actually built on.

One of the most obvious opportunities right now — possibly the most mispriced sector in the entire market — is energy.

The world does not exist without energy. Full stop. People have been fed a ridiculous lie that oil is going to disappear and we’re all going to drive solar-powered EVs and Exxon is going to go out of business.

Forward March, Dollar 2.0

November 7, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

In the U.S., stablecoin rules remain tangled between crypto exchanges eager for new customers and small banks afraid of losing deposits.

China’s Ant Group is filing trademarks for “Antcoin” while the Party debates whether digital dollars threaten national sovereignty. And in Singapore, StraitsX cofounder Samson Leo frets about regulatory fragmentation: “If every jurisdiction requires us to split reserves across their banking systems, customer protection will diminish.”

Stablecoins today are where email was when businesses still faxed each other printouts of their inbox goes an apt analogy suggested by Bloomberg’s Andy Mukherjee.

The rails are there — the habits aren’t. But the shift is coming. And when it does, it won’t just change how we pay — it’ll change who gets paid.

The Engels’ Pause Is Here

November 7, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

Anticipating a sluggish labor market, the Fed has cut rates twice this fall.

Unfortunately, you can’t fix a reorganization with cheaper money. AI will eat the easy tasks first, so the pain you see — pink slips — is only half the story. Those jobs will likely never return.

A Masterclass In Absurdity

November 6, 2025 • Lau Vegys

If you’re from New York—or know anyone there—you’ll probably agree: most New Yorkers are fed up with crime, the outrageous cost of living, government incompetence and corruption—and, yes, the rats.

But the fact that a hard-core socialist like Mamdani is their favorite pick to solve those problems tells you that most voters have no idea why any of it is happening.

Their hatred of Donald Trump—and a steady diet of MSNBC—has made them blind to the obvious: it’s the Left’s policies creating these problems. You have rent control shrinking supply by forcing landlords to pull units from the market, union giveaways jacking up the cost of transportation, zero-bail laws putting criminals back on the streets, and so on and so forth.

The Debasement Trade, A Legacy

November 7, 2025 • James Hickman

One of the most obvious opportunities right now — possibly the most mispriced sector in the entire market — is energy.

Forward March, Dollar 2.0

November 7, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

In the U.S., stablecoin rules remain tangled between crypto exchanges eager for new customers and small banks afraid of losing deposits.

Stablecoins today are where email was when businesses still faxed each other printouts of their inbox goes an apt analogy suggested by Bloomberg’s Andy Mukherjee.

The rails are there — the habits aren’t. But the shift is coming. And when it does, it won’t just change how we pay — it’ll change who gets paid.

The Engels’ Pause Is Here

November 7, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

Anticipating a sluggish labor market, the Fed has cut rates twice this fall.

A Masterclass In Absurdity

November 6, 2025 • Lau Vegys

But the fact that a hard-core socialist like Mamdani is their favorite pick to solve those problems tells you that most voters have no idea why any of it is happening.