An Expensive Milestone

Milestones are usually a good thing. 

Milestones we want to reach, and milestones we want to avoid.

A first birthday, a 50th birthday, a graduation, a big job promotion. These are all things we typically celebrate. 

But there are some milestones we want to avoid too. 

Just last week, the US passed one such milestone when its national debt topped $31 trillion for the first time. That’s 31 with 12 zeros behind it. 

$31,000,000,000,000.

That’s about $93,000 per citizen, or $246,000 per taxpayer. 

$8 trillion of that was added since the beginning of 2020 when the government needed to prop up an economy ravaged by the pandemic. It was an easy pill to swallow at the time because of the low interest rates. But now, with interest rates climbing, the debt number is poised to climb much higher in only a few short years. 

If the trends continue as they have been, inflation is only going to get worse and the interest rates on those debt payments could triple. And the interest rates are what truly matters here.

At the pace we’re going, rising interest payments on national debt could outpace defense spending in under a decade. If the government has to dedicate that much to simply keeping up with the interest payments, that’s less money to go toward things that ultimately help Americans. 

Think about areas like infrastructure, which we’re already scrambling to fix.  

Think about areas like technological advances where we’re already in a race with less friendly nations and at risk of being left behind. 

Discretionary spending in the federal budget is another area these interest payments would eat into. Housing, education, veterans’ benefits, energy — these are all areas in which the country could already be doing more than it does now. 

If interest payments continue to trend upward the way they are now, there will be even less to go around for those kinds of programs. 

Those are just some examples. 

The fact is there is a very real concern about an overall lower quality of life for Americans over the next few decades. If this problem of interest payments gets out of control, the money printing machines could come back on and the inflation band-aid will be reapplied. 

That isn’t something discussed often because the national debt isn’t something many people think about. It doesn’t become a big story until the debt number is close to its ceiling (which we could soon see as that number is $31.4 trillion), but the specter looms all the same.

In short, that is something else investors have to think about when working to safeguard their wealth. 

More people are waking up to that fact and are looking for ways to make money when economic prospects are growing increasingly grim. 

Of course, there’s no way to know with 100% certainty what’s going to happen in the near-term, but there are things investors can do to prepare for volatility that’s more likely than not. 

One key step is investing in a way that wealth is protected in tough times and poised to grow when things improve. 

Traditionally, that has often meant investing in blue-chip stocks… names that serve as cornerstones for retirement accounts everywhere. But with the way markets have been acting lately, even those aren’t the sure bets they once were. 

That’s why investors have been flocking to names in the gold space. 

As an asset, it’s fared better than most while the inflation we’ve been seeing has been emptying pockets across the board. 

It’s proven its resiliency in the past and is set to do so again as we look at increased Fed interest rates and skyrocketing national debt. 

That means people who hold physical gold, along with the miners who pull it from the ground, are set to benefit as options for wealth preservation dwindle. 

One under-the-radar miner is sitting on a deposit that may be one of the biggest ever. Drills are turning and new discoveries are being made at the site. That means it’s only a matter of time before it gets mainstream recognition. 

A new video explains just why gold as an asset is set to climb and why this gold miner is one of the best plays on the market. 

The time to get in is now while a shaky market stares down more interest rate increases and a growing recession. As gold rises, those acting with foresight now will be best positioned for the coming gains. 

Take a look at the video and see just why this will be one of the big investment stories of the next few years. 

Ryan Stancil

Ryan Stancil
Editor, Daily Profit Cycle