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Denver. Always welcome. Plan your trip at visitdenver.com/summer. Welcome to Radical Personal Finance. A show dedicated to providing you with the knowledge, skills, insight, and encouragement you need to live a rich and meaningful life now, while building a plan for financial freedom in 10 years or less. My name is Joshua Sheets.

I'm your host. Today, we are going to discuss something fun. National debt. Five years ago, I released a couple of podcasts. Podcast episodes 628 called Federal Debt. The Ticking Bomb That No One Is Willing To Diffuse. And number 629, in-depth version, Federal Debt. The Ticking Bomb That No One Is Willing To Diffuse.

And in those podcasts, I gave, especially in 629, the in-depth version, I gave an extensive, detailed discussion of all of the factors affecting the U.S. national fiscal situation, the growing debt, the never-ending deficit. We went through all the details and, sorry, all of the numbers in painful detail. We talked about how all of the things that people talk about this.

Hey, there's some easy solution that will have strong economic growth is nonsense. That we could just inflate the debt away. Nonsense. Low interest rates. You know, we're going to keep the interest rates low. Nonsense. Immigration. Let's fix it. Nonsense. All the conservative fantasies. We talked about how, hey, let's have a pro-growth tax policy.

And we said that federal programs are growing a 66 or 7% annually. So you have to exceed that in order to do some kind of deficit reduction. We talked about the conservative fantasy of, hey, let's eliminate welfare and lower priority spending. We talked about how deep the cuts would have to be.

It's just laughably deep. It's a delusion to think that that could happen. Impossibly tight spending caps. Devolution to state governments. And we talked about the liberal fantasies. Let's just tax the rich. And we talked about what would happen if you had a 100% tax on all income over $500,000.

We talked about the delusions of saying, hey, let's do deep defense cuts or single-payer health care. And just talked about how insane everything would be. Now, so I told you five years ago, I said, here's what you need to listen for. You need to listen for serious, serious discussion on these topics.

And I don't think it will happen. I don't think it'll happen. Let me play for you just a few minutes. This is from episode 629, from the conclusion of episode 629, published on March 7, 2019. Liberal. Read those. Conclusion. For decades, economists and policy experts warned that a budgetary and economic tsunami would come when the 74 million baby boomers retire into Social Security and Medicare.

Nevertheless, a parade of presidents and congresses did nothing to avert the crisis. To the contrary, both parties added a new Medicare drug entitlement in 2003, after which the Affordable Care Act further expanded federal health obligations for Medicaid and new subsidized health insurance exchanges. Today, one-third of the baby boomers have already retired, and another one-third will retire over the next six years.

Annual budget deficits will soon pass $1 trillion on the way to $2 trillion, and possibly $3 trillion in 10 to 15 years. Overall, the Social Security and Medicare systems face an unfathomable $100 trillion cash deficit over 30 years. Without reform, runaway deficits will all but guarantee a debt crisis that will profoundly damage the country's economic and social order.

There is still time to avoid that crisis, but it will require the nation's fractious political leaders to leave their respective comfort zones and compromise. Now, before we continue, let's go to the U.S. House of Representatives just this week, and let me play you a three-minute audio clip. It's necessary that I give you the context.

So here's the context from a USA Today article on what I'm about to play for you. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican from Georgia, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat from New York, butted heads at a House Oversight Committee markup session Thursday night after Greene attacked Representative Jasmine Crockett, Democrat from Texas, saying she was wearing "fake eyelashes." The meltdown began as lawmakers were discussing the issue of holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to release audio recordings of President Joe Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Herr.

Herr released a scathing report earlier this year that described Biden as a "well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory." Now, let's listen to the audio. As far as I can tell, this is a three-minute and ten-second audio clip that I believe is unedited. - I'd like to know if any of the Democrats on this committee are employing Judge Mershawn's daughter.

- This is Greene speaking, Representative Greene. - Please tell me what that has to do with Merrick Garland. - Is she a porn star? - Oh, Goldman. That's right. He's advising. - Okay. - He's advising who? - Do you know what we're here for? You know we're here about AG?

- I don't think you know what you're here for. - Well, you're the one talking about— - I think your fake eyelashes are messing up— - No, ain't nothing— - Hold on, hold on. - Order, Mr. Chairman. Would you order the regaining order of your committee? - I do have a point of order, and I would like to move to take down Ms.

Greene's words. That is absolutely unacceptable. How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person? - Are your feelings hurt? - Move her words down. - Aw. - Oh, oh, girl. Baby girl. - Oh, really? - Don't even play with me. - Baby girl? I don't think so. - We are going to move, and we're going to take your words down.

- I second that motion. - So, so, who will have to pay? - Ms. Greene agrees to strike her words. - I believe she's apologizing. - No, no, no, Mr. Perry— - Okay, hold on. Then, after Mr. Perry's going to be recognized, then Ms. Greene— - I'm not apologizing.

- Well, then, you're not striking your words. - I am not apologizing. - Now, let's go. Come on, guys. - Why don't you debate me? - Mr. Chairman, um, the, the minority— - I think it's pretty self-evident. - You're not— - Yeah, you're not—you don't have enough intelligence. - You're out of order.

- You're out of order. Chair recognizes Mr. Perry. - Okay, move to strike the— - I'd like to strike those words as well. - I'd move to strike the lady's words. - I would like to strike those words as well. - That's two requests to strike. That's two requests to strike.

- Oh, they cannot take the words. - If there's another motion to strike your words again, please get your members under control. - All right, okay, here's the correct apology. Ms. Greene, do you ask unanimous—do you agree to unanimous consent to strike your words? - I repeat again for the second time, yes, I'll strike my words, but I'm not apologizing.

- Without objection. - Not apologizing. - Mr. Chair, point of order. - Who's—who's— - It's me. - Ms. Crockett. - I'm just curious, just to better understand your ruling, if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody's bleach-blind, bad-built, butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?

- A what now? - Chairman, I make a motion to strike those words. - I don't think that's a part of it. - I'm trying to find clarification on what— - Chairman, motion to strike those words. - I had no idea what you just said. - We're not gonna—we're not gonna do this.

Look, you guys earlier literally just said— - You just—you just voted to do it. You just voted to do it. - Order, order. - I'm trying to get clarification. - Look it, calm down, calm down. - No, no, no, no, because this is what y'all do. - So I'm trying to get clarification.

- Hey, Ms. Crockett, you're not recognized. - Ms. Crockett. - And you don't want me to be— - I can't hear you with your yelling. - Calm down. Can you please calm down? - No, don't tell me to calm down, because y'all talk noise, and then you can't take it.

- You're out of control. - 'Cause if I come and talk shit about her, y'all gonna have a problem. - Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman. - Order. - All right, Chair—OK. - Order, Chair now— - So that's from a couple days ago, a few days ago. And I made a mistake there.

I did see—find a cut in the middle there. So that wasn't the unedited audio. That was clipped together audio. So I apologize for stating that wrongly. I now want to go back to episode 629. After I finish that conclusion, I want you to listen carefully to the next segment from episode 629 from 2019.

Remembering, by the way, that at the time, we said six years would pass. Another third of the baby boomers would retire. We're now at about 60% of baby boomers have retired. Here we are five years later. Let's now listen to the comments that I made at the end of this podcast.

"And thus endeth the paper." I hope that you made it through, and apologies for burying you with the data, with all the numbers. I know it's hard in an audio format, but it's important, and I want you to pay attention to it. And I decided to go ahead and bury you with two hours of data and policy wonk discussion because I thought it was well done.

I thought it was fairly balanced, but I thought it did a good job of showing the basic problem. I don't see a solution for the macro economy. I don't see a solution for the macro budget, et cetera. To think that — and here's just one more comment. I've inserted, of course, a lot of commentary.

I didn't intend to, but I'm a talk show host. I can't help it. Just even the closing point. There is still time to avoid that crisis, but it will require the nation's fractious political leaders to leave their respective comfort zones and compromise. The biggest reason why I think that is impossible is, from my observation, it seems to me that political leaders have stopped trusting one another, and I think they have good reason to stop trusting one another.

If I were in politics, I would have a very hard time believing that I'm negotiating in good faith with another politician. I think there are political leaders who would be willing to negotiate these things if they believed that the opposition was in good faith. I think most adults, especially adults who have a little bit of experience, recognize that in life you don't always get what you want.

Sometimes you get what you need. You don't always get what you want. And so, although I would argue for a hardline position, all of us, even when we argue for a hardline position, we would concede that I can't get there overnight, and in fact it's not good for me to get there overnight.

Almost any person in almost any issue that you look at who would make a hardline argument would concede that you need time for things to adjust. But how much trust would you have, if you were a political leader, that your opposition is in good faith? I don't think anybody on any side of the political issue thinks that their opponents are acting in good faith.

I've tried to read activists on all sides of the political debate, and what I observe in my reading is nobody thinks the other side is genuine. Nobody thinks they're acting in good faith. And I think everybody has substantial evidence that would say that they're right. I don't know about you, but those maniacs yelling at each other, I think should be considered as pretty decent evidence.

One hardcore lefty, other hardcore righty, absolute maniacs. Let's continue. Being of the more conservative political bent, the more freedom-oriented political bent, I would like to believe that my side is better, but I would have to concede that that could just be my own desire to see that confirmed. I think it might be true, but I see enough that I can understand how people who would be a night and day different from me would say you're not acting in good faith.

I can see that. So what do I have to defend? So if you can't even trust on the simplest of issues that your opponents are going to act in good faith, they're going to speak in good faith, and they're going to debate in good faith on the simple issues.

How on earth do you solve something as complex as this budget nightmare? I don't know about you, but kind of a simple issue to deal with a current thing in a subcommittee. How do you then deal with a budget nightmare that requires everyone to compromise? Back to the tape.

How do you get there? Now, I hope I'm wrong. I desperately hope I'm wrong. Because friends, we don't want to go through a budget, an economic crisis. It is a nightmare. It is a nightmare. We don't want to do it. It is not. If it's your fantasy that you think, "Well, there's going to be no rule of law.

Without rule of law, I'm going to be able to do what I want." Nonsense. It is a nightmare. It is an absolute nightmare. We don't want to go through it. It will be pain, depression, dissolution, suicide on all hands, death on all sides, massive decline in lifestyle, massive decline in safety, massive increase in violence and the risk of violence.

You don't want to go through it. I don't want to go through it. So I desperately hope I'm wrong. And if I can find evidence that says that I'm wrong, I will share that with you. But at this point, the data seems pretty clear. And when I add all the little bits that I've inserted here into what I've already shared with you, I don't see how a political solution is possible.

I do not see it. I hope I'm wrong again. I don't see it. Now, let's talk about, well, I'll share one more thing. How's this one? So we've got a bunch of maniacs in Congress. We've got a couple of senile guys running for president who are both whacked out, haven't made any progress over the last five years really at all on any of these financial issues.

Things are much more dire than they ever were. And since five years have been wasted, this isn't even a part of the public debate. We're not even talking about it. There's no serious good faith debate. When Donald Trump and President Biden debate each other, if they do in the coming months in the run up to the elections, I'm not expecting a deep discussion on national debt and fiscal deficit and everything like that.

But let's flip to another one. I thought this was pretty good. This is from Reddit, from the teachers subreddit. The headline of the post. Ninth graders protested against taking the Algebra 1 state exam. Admin has no clue what to do. Students are required to take and pass this exam as a graduation requirement.

There is also a push to have as much of the school testing as possible in order to receive a school grade. I believe it is about 95 percent attendance required. Otherwise, they are unable to give one. The ninth graders have vocally announced that they are refusing to take part in state testing anymore.

Many students decided to feign sickness, skip or stay home. But the ones in school decided to hold a sit-in outside the media center and refused to go in, waiting out until the test is over. Admin has tried every approach to get them to go and take the test. They tried yelling, begging, bribing with pizza, warnings that they will not graduate, threats to call parents and have them suspended, and more to get these kids to go and nothing worked.

They were only met with "I don't care" and many expletives. While I do not teach Algebra 1 this year, I found it hilarious watching from the window, as the administrators were completely at their wits' end dealing with the complete apathy, disrespect and outright malicious nature of the students we have been reporting and writing up all year.

We have kids we haven't seen in our classrooms since January, out in the halls and causing problems for other teachers, with nothing being done about it. Students that curse us out on the daily return to the classroom with treats and a smirk on their face, knowing they got away with it.

It has only emboldened them to take things further. We received the report at the end of the day that we had only 60% of our students take the Algebra 1 exam, out of hundreds of freshmen. We only have a week left in school, counting down the days. So I don't know what to say.

I just thought this whole set of affairs was funny in a sad and horrific kind of sense. Here's your black pill for the day. What I would encourage you is simply, if you're interested, go back to Episode 628 or 629. I would suggest 629, the in-depth version, where I go through all the numbers of the fiscal deficit.

And at this point in time, I don't see, I continue to not see that there's any even proposal, any proposal whatsoever, point out to me any proposal for stabilizing and improving the U.S. fiscal situation. It's absolutely horrific. Now, none of us knows what that actually will mean. It's completely uncharted territory for a government like the United States to be on the track that it's on.

We can see what has happened in some other countries that have done similar things. None of them are at the scale of the United States, and none of us have any idea. So who knows? Maybe it could be an absolute catastrophe. Maybe not. After all, the United States is not Zimbabwe.

The United States is not Venezuela. But pay attention. Pay attention. Politics ain't going so well right now, and I think you should pay attention to that.