Peter Thiel

And then we can't talk about what's gone wrong in the U.S. because everything is so much worse.

And then we can't talk about what's gone wrong in the U.S. because everything is so much worse.

Yeah, I mean there are a lot that are pretty obvious to articulate and they're much easier to describe than solve. Like we have a crazy, crazy budget deficit.

Yeah, I mean there are a lot that are pretty obvious to articulate and they're much easier to describe than solve. Like we have a crazy, crazy budget deficit.

Yeah, I mean there are a lot that are pretty obvious to articulate and they're much easier to describe than solve. Like we have a crazy, crazy budget deficit.

And presumably you have to do one of three things. You have to raise taxes a lot. You have to cut spending a lot. Or you're just going to keep borrowing money.

And presumably you have to do one of three things. You have to raise taxes a lot. You have to cut spending a lot. Or you're just going to keep borrowing money.

And presumably you have to do one of three things. You have to raise taxes a lot. You have to cut spending a lot. Or you're just going to keep borrowing money.

It's not that high, but it's gone up a lot.

It's not that high, but it's gone up a lot.

It's not that high, but it's gone up a lot.

It peaked at 3.1% of GDP. which is maybe 15%, 20% of the budget, peaked at 3.1% of GDP in 1991. And then it went all the way down to something like 1.5% in the mid-2010s. And now it's crept back up to 3.1%, 3.2%. And so we are at all-time highs as a percentage of GDP. And the way to understand the basic math is the debt went up a crazy amount, but the interest rates went down.

It peaked at 3.1% of GDP. which is maybe 15%, 20% of the budget, peaked at 3.1% of GDP in 1991. And then it went all the way down to something like 1.5% in the mid-2010s. And now it's crept back up to 3.1%, 3.2%. And so we are at all-time highs as a percentage of GDP. And the way to understand the basic math is the debt went up a crazy amount, but the interest rates went down.

It peaked at 3.1% of GDP. which is maybe 15%, 20% of the budget, peaked at 3.1% of GDP in 1991. And then it went all the way down to something like 1.5% in the mid-2010s. And now it's crept back up to 3.1%, 3.2%. And so we are at all-time highs as a percentage of GDP. And the way to understand the basic math is the debt went up a crazy amount, but the interest rates went down.

And from 2008 to 2021, for 13 years, we basically had zero interest rates with one brief blip under Powell. But it was basically zero rates. And then you could borrow way more money, and it wouldn't show up in servicing the debt because you just paid 0% interest on the T-bills. And the thing that's...

And from 2008 to 2021, for 13 years, we basically had zero interest rates with one brief blip under Powell. But it was basically zero rates. And then you could borrow way more money, and it wouldn't show up in servicing the debt because you just paid 0% interest on the T-bills. And the thing that's...

And from 2008 to 2021, for 13 years, we basically had zero interest rates with one brief blip under Powell. But it was basically zero rates. And then you could borrow way more money, and it wouldn't show up in servicing the debt because you just paid 0% interest on the T-bills. And the thing that's...

that's very dangerous seeming to me about the current fiscal situation is the interest rates have gone back to positive like they were in the 90s and early 2000s, mid-2000s. And it's just this incredibly large debt. And so we now have a real runaway deficit problem. But people have been talking about this for 40 years and crying wolf for 40 years. So it's very hard for people to take it seriously.

that's very dangerous seeming to me about the current fiscal situation is the interest rates have gone back to positive like they were in the 90s and early 2000s, mid-2000s. And it's just this incredibly large debt. And so we now have a real runaway deficit problem. But people have been talking about this for 40 years and crying wolf for 40 years. So it's very hard for people to take it seriously.

that's very dangerous seeming to me about the current fiscal situation is the interest rates have gone back to positive like they were in the 90s and early 2000s, mid-2000s. And it's just this incredibly large debt. And so we now have a real runaway deficit problem. But people have been talking about this for 40 years and crying wolf for 40 years. So it's very hard for people to take it seriously.