Financial, Economic and Social Mood Update (April 2, 2025)
Financial, Economic and Social Mood Update (April 2, 2025) The USA has been effectively bankrupt for some time now – in other words, before the time of the current administration, its immediate predecessors, before the time of Barack Obama, and before the time of both Bush Presidencies. The national debt of the USA (USD $36.6 TRILLION) and especially the off-balance sheet items including unfunded liabilities for pensions, social security, healthcare, Medicare, Medicaid and the like (USD $281.5 TRILLION) cannot be paid off in any “normal” way. This will be done through a form of bankruptcy which must necessarily involve payment in the form of physical assets to the holders of debt. Even financially healthy companies and entities “downsize” with short term staff reductions of 30 percent or so. What the US Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) is doing is necessary and had to be done sooner or later – and better sooner rather than later. Employment at the US Federal Government reached an all-time high in 1990 with a FTE (full time equivalent) civilian staff of 3.4 million employees. The initial level of current reductions equal at least 331,780 individuals which include those not yet meeting one-year probation (200,000) and those accepting an early cash buyout – many of these people being already close to retirement (75,000 people). Of the remaining 2,260,000 employees a reduction of 30 to 40 percent of this total will be “downsized” in the coming years (this is the stated goal of D.O.G.E.). The ripple effect in the general US economy due to government contracts paid outside of the government is a multiplier of 8.4 which equals a total sum of circa 8.5 million to 10.4 million jobs to be downsized in the public and “near public” sector of the economy. The entire US workforce of…