The elephant in the room

As the annual political brinkmanship over a potential U.S. government shutdown unfolds, the deeper, unresolved issue looms large: the national debt. The United States now carries a staggering $36.56 trillion in total debt.

Over the past 12 months, the country has spent $1.178 trillion on interest payments alone - surpassing the $886 billion allocated for defense. This stark reality underscores the critical importance of U.S. interest rate policy, both in the short and long term.

Thankfully, recent inflation data appears more benign ( except egg-flation ), but the pressure on the independent Federal Reserve to avoid raising rates must be immense.