EconAir

Secretary of the Treasury UPDATE (8/2026) The expected yearly deficit for fiscal year 2026, ending September 30, 2026, is $2.1 trillion. This is higher than the deficit of $1.9 trillion in fiscal year 2025. One reason is that the expected $200 billion increase in government revenue from increased tariffs has to be refunded to importers and American companies because the Supreme Court declared the tariffs unconstitutional. The national debt will be around $40 trillion by the end of this fiscal year. Total interest expense will be around $1.1 trillion, with the interest rate a little under 3%. Thus interest expense is now half of the total yearly deficit. Another way of looking at this is that half of the yearly deficit goes to paying interest on the national debt. Projections are that the national debt will be around $50 trillion in five years (FY 2031). Yearly interest expense might be between $1.5 trillion and $2.0 trillion, which assumes an interest rate of 3% to 4%. Thes...

  As that great comic strip character Pogo said: We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us. Introduction   Happy Birthday America! Democracy and individual liberties have survived for 250 years. Slavery was eliminated after a long and bloody civil war. The right to vote and civil liberties were extended to all Americans. America innovated the Industrial/Information Revolution and made the country the largest and most technologically-advanced economy in the world. In the 20 th  century, America opposed and helped defeat authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. America was an inspiration to all people who opposed tyranny and oppression. From 1607 onwards, America was a special country built by immigrants and their descendants.   This celebration should commemorate the 250 th  birthday of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which stated the basic rights of Americans and denounced the “tyranny” of King George. The preamble is a statement of the ideals of individ...

    Like in the beloved old TV series of the same name, some people live in different time dimensions, alterative realities, altered states, or alternative universes.   We live in the modern version of the Roman Republic; Donald Trump lives in the Roman Empire.   We think the president should be like Washington and Lincoln; Donald Trump thinks he’s Nero or one of the crazier emperors of the late empire.   We believe in democracy; Donald Trump strongly supported Hungary’s president who believes in “illiberal democracy.” Moron supporting oxymoron.   We believe in democracy; Donald Trump supports the neo-Fascist political party in Germany. The last time a Fascist party took over Germany – how did that turn out?   Most Americans are Christians and believe in God; Donald Trump posted an image of himself as Christ. Throughout history, there’s been a name for people who do that.   We erect monuments in Washington DC to great former presidents; Donald Tru...