What an incredible mess it will be for Joe Biden to leave for Donald Trump on January 20th.
That's not all $36 trillion federal debt (an increase of $13 trillion since 2020), which is increasingly (and foolishly) funded by short-term borrowing. That too Inflation that refuses to die Despite low energy prices, strategic oil reserves remain depleted to a dangerous levelweapon stockpile. dangerously lowthe Department of Justice lost confidence Billions of American taxpayer dollars have been invested in loss-making companies (Intel, I'm looking at you.), is an educational curriculum. teach children to hate their own country But I can't give birth to young people can read and write, housing crisis, Manufacturing recession And so on.
Biden also leaves President Trump with the nightmarish task of rescuing America. war between ukraine and russia And once again, we need to restore a sustainable environment. balance of power in the Middle East.
No wonder Mr. Trump has begun preparations in earnest.
If Joe Biden is a decent man and a patriot, he will spend the remaining weeks of his presidency fixing some of the disasters he has caused. In fact, he is doing the opposite.
Biden and his apparatchiks Trying to spend every last dollar It was authorized by the misnamed Inflation Control Act so that the Trump administration could not recover those funds. The IRA provided some to the White House. $375 billion Under the complete control of former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, taxpayer funds were to be spread around the country as they saw fit.
With few people in the Biden White House with private sector experience and no one with a background in successful business, the hapless crew will not be able to spend the billions available. It turned out that. Pete Buttigieg's A funny effort To build charging stations for electronic vehicles, the Secretary of Transportation has spent $7.5 billion on eight facilities after pledging to charge 500,000 vehicles. Deployment of Internet access to rural areas completely fails Despite the $42 billion at her disposal, these represent the capabilities of this administration.
Anyone who knows anything about Washington knows that leftover money is as popular as the fourth turkey sandwich served after Thanksgiving. Money must be spent! So rather than helping the Trump team (and the US) by recycling unused IRA funds, they are leveraging it, at least in theory.
EPA advisors are captured on video recently released by Project Veritas investigators. say it with a hidden camera“Right now we're just trying to get the money out as quickly as possible and stop everything before they come in. … It's really like being on the Titanic and throwing gold bars over the edge.” I feel like it.”
Advisor Brent Efron said: admit His department, which typically used to “make sure we have proper processes in place to prevent fraud and abuse,” is now raking in money for tribes, nonprofits and states at breakneck speed. It is said that there is Efron explained to an undercover reporter, “We gave them the money because it's much more difficult with a government-run program, and if Trump wins, they could take the money away.”
Elon Musk commented in the video: suggest “The American government is actively working to undermine the American people.” Or at least the newly elected president.
In yet another example, Mr. Biden just reached an agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees to protect about 42,000 employees at the Social Security Administration. from having to go back to the officea key issue for the Trump team as it seeks to reform the federal workforce.
Elsewhere, Biden would approve rapid replenishment of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if he wanted to help the country. In 2022, he sought to deplete his oil reserves amid rising inflation, lower gas prices and help Democrats in the midterm elections. When Biden took office, reserves were 638 million barrels. Currently, the country has only 392 million barrels in emergency stockpiles. Lowest in 40 years. Reserves have increased by 12% over the past year, but they are not protected from severe price shocks.
Mr. Biden also seeks to leave behind a portfolio of Treasury debt that is dangerously weighted toward short-term financial instruments. Instead of financing the recent $1.8 trillion federal budget deficit by issuing 10-year and 30-year bonds, Janet Yellen instead Accumulated 2-year Treasury Bills This is part of a frank political effort to avoid a sharp rise in mortgage interest rates. Writing in the New York Post, Charles Gasparino quotes Robert van Battenberg of the famous Bear Trap Report, who says that about 30% of all debt is currently short-term debt. However, it is estimated that by 2023 it will be 15%. Government borrowing is a sudden and almost unimaginable move.
With yields inverted for most of the past two years, long-term borrowing made sense. Yellen did not respond, leaving the onus on her successor to weather future cost increases. Blattenberg writes: “The Treasury currently faces significant short-term debt maturing each year, which it must refinance at significantly higher interest rates… [which] Government interest payments have increased significantly. ”
There are many problems facing this country. Detroit automakers are losing billions of dollars. fire a worker Thanks to Biden's harmful electric vehicle mandate. Millions of illegal immigrants are draining city budgets. Violent crime is on the rise because Democrats have weakened law enforcement. And military leaders have warned: Weapons are missing. The Biden era has filled landmines on many fronts for the incoming Trump team.
Embarrassingly, they rush to do more rather than try to repair the damage they have caused.
liz peakis a former partner at Wall Street giant Wertheim & Company.
