Current Status 

National Debt 

The national debt clock is about to rise past the $36 trillion level. According to my back-of-the-hand calculations, that’s $106k per person or $272k per taxpayer. If it continues as is – and there is no reason to believe it won’t – it will hit $50 trillion in 2028. That’s $145k per person and $359k per taxpayer! (See the piece by Murray Sabrin, below.)

Think of it: federal debt is mounting at the rate of $8+ billion per day. And that means every day, our government must finance and refinance more debt.

There are only three ways this plays out: 1. A major recession. 2. An extended period of hyperinflation. Or 3. A quick and huge rise in our GDP.

3.11% 

This is one repercussion of the above. The yield on new “I” bonds is less than it has been, but higher than it was when inflation peaked in 2022. If you bought I-bonds at that peak, you have a decision to make, according to the WSJ: Hold them, redeem them, or exchange them for new ones. Click here.

What Are I-Bonds? 

People like I-Bonds – short for “Series I Savings Bonds” – because they’re low-risk, inflation-adjusted, and backed by the US Treasury.

Here’s how they work (from Nigel):

* Inflation Protection: I-Bonds have a variable interest rate that adjusts twice a year (May and November) based on inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). So when inflation goes up, the yield goes up.

* Dual Interest Rate: The return on an I-Bond is a combination of:

1. A fixed rate (set when you buy the bond and never changes)
2. A variable rate (which changes every six months with inflation)

* Individual Purchase Limits: You can buy up to $10,000 in electronic I-Bonds per year through TreasuryDirect.gov, plus another $5,000 using your federal tax refund (in paper form).

* Holding Period: You must hold them for at least 1 year – and if you cash out before 5 years, you lost the last 3 months of interest.

* Tax Benefits: Interest is exempt from state and local income tax, and federal tax can be deferred until you cash them in or until they mature in 30 years, whichever comes first.

Employment 

The latest bureaucrat body count: 33,000 jobs gone, plus another 10,000 workers due to reach retirement status before 2025, whose positions will not be refilled… along with another 40,000 temporary contracts that are poised to end this year.

“Make Americans Financially Independent Again” 
By Murray Sabrin 

The inspiration for the letter, he says, came from three of the great free-market philosopher Murray Rothbard’s monographs (What Has Government Done to Our Money?, The Case Against the Fed, and The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar). And he notes, “My letter is more relevant today than when it was published a half century ago. Since May 1976, the money supply has increased from $1.072 trillion to $21.76 trillion (March 2025). In short, the creation of trillions of new money has lifted consumer prices, real estate prices, asset prices and primarily and primarily benefited the one percenters at the expense of low- and middle-income families. Furthermore, by manipulating short-term interest rates, the Fed is responsible for the booms and busts since it was created.”

Read his 1976 letter to the editor of the NYT here.