Death By Deficit Spending | Lyn Alden
Our addiction to deficit spending is the greatest threat to our future prosperity
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Today’s guest has long been warning that the US -- as well as many other countries -- is now in an era of fiscal dominance.
That’s when fiscal spending gets out of control, like a runaway train.
It becomes so large that it becomes the primary determinant of economic growth and inflation -- steamrolling over any impact of monetary policy or private sector lending.
At this time of this recording, the deficit for the 2025 US fiscal year is on track to be the 3rd largest in history, behind the COVID emergency spending years of 2020 and 2021.
The key difference , of course, is this time we’re not facing a global pandemic and economic lockdown.
Yet the profligate deficit spending continues unabated.
What impact is this having on the economy, asset prices, our currency’s purchasing power, and social stability?
For answers, we are very fortunate to welcome back to the program Lyn Alden, investment strategist & author of the book Broken Money: Why Our Financial System is Failing Us and How We Can Make it Better
To hear this *very* important discussion, click here or on the video below:
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Adam’s Notes: Lyn Alden (recorded 9.23.25)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Fiscal Dominance: Lyn Alden emphasizes that massive U.S. deficits (third-largest in history for 2025) drive economic growth and inflation, overshadowing monetary policy; Social Security, Medicare, defense, and interest expenses dominate, making cuts politically challenging.
Trade and Tariffs: The Trump administration’s tariff focus yields mixed results—more a tax on Americans than foreign entities, with minimal trade deal improvements; weakens dollar but slows deficit growth slightly (e.g., $360B annualized tariffs vs. $2T deficit).
Economic Outlook: Lyn sees a medium risk of recession within the coming
