The US national debt will reach $40 trillion in a few months. US GDP will be just under $30 trillion. In future years, the debt (and interest payments) will grow much faster than the economy. It is a matter of much speculation how this resolves itself. Raising taxes is difficult. Cutting spending is impossible. After those two options are eliminated, the only remaining option is borrowing more money. When the debt markets won’t provide it, they demand higher interest payments to justify the risk. The Fed won’t allow rates to rise to 10%. 6% mortgage rates have already caused enormous stress to the housing market. Many of us thing the end game is Fed monetization of the debt. Massive money printing (digitally) and massive purchases of US govt long term debt to keep rates low. The Fed balance sheet would likely triple in size to $20 trillion. That is really the only solution in this process as the govt debt massively exceeds the size of the US economy. This process has been repeated throughout history. The choice most governments make is the money printer. It is the easiest politically. That is why we should all be stocking up on hard assets that will retain their value relative to the money printing that is coming. Gold, silver …(Wall Street Mav)