From October 2, 2023 to October 11, 2023, the US national debt increased by $1.2 billion per hour.
This is particularly troubling considering the escalating conflict in the Middle East (which is insanely sad in its own right).
Allow me to explain.
The level of deficit-driven inflation we’re currently experiencing in the US is similar to what the country experienced in the 1940s — during and after World War II. Put another way, the US is currently experiencing levels of inflation that are comparable to what it experienced both during and after a world war 80 years ago.
So, if we enter into a world war now, the US (and the world) will likely experience unprecedented levels of inflation.
And even if we don’t enter into a world war, the fiscal deficit — the shortfall of the government’s income compared to its spending — is already increasing at a frightening rate.
Part of the reason for this is that the interest on the US debt is on track to hit about $1 trillion, which will soon make it the biggest line item in the federal budget.
My point: We’re already in a debt spiral — when a country or institution has to continually take on more and more debt to pay back its existing debt — and the pace and magnitude of that debt spiral will increase if World War III breaks out, causing unprecedented levels of inflation in the US (and globally).
Sounds pretty scary, no? It is.
So, let me share with my four-part strategy for dealing with this situation:
Be really sad most of the time.
Let existential dread eat me alive.
Allow anxiety to plague my body and cause me to lose sleep.
Hold some Bitcoin in cold storage and pray that I don’t have to sell too much of it before it’s recognized as the next global reserve currency. (Not financial advice.)
Let’s move on to brighter things.
Looking to Kenya for Inspiration
This week, I spoke with Kenya’s Master Guantai, one of the best Bitcoin educators in the country.
(Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.)
Here’s a little preview of the conversation:
(Subscribe to my goddamn YouTube channel.)
I’m very inspired by the Kenyan youth, and I remain bullish as ever on Africa when it comes to Bitcoin adoption.
Looking to El Salvador for Inspiration
Speaking of Bitcoin educators, I met Max Keiser, one of the first ever Bitcoin educators, and his wife Stacy Herbert at Pubkey on Thursday and Friday night this past week.
The two have been living in El Salvador for the last two years and have been working closely with Nayib Bukele, the country’s president, to attract people to visit/move to El Salvador and to help businesses to set up shop there.
On Friday, Stacy discussed how El Salvador is entering into a “New Renaissance” (we like the term) in part because of Bitcoin adoption and in part because of Bukele’s leadership (which I have mixed feelings about).
And on Thursday at Pubkey, I met and spoke with Gerson Martinez, the CSO of Volcano Energy, a bitcoin mining company based in El Salvador that uses geothermal energy from volcanoes to power its mining rigs.
He’s an El Salvadoran who’s spent most of his life in the States, as his parents fled El Salvador decades back due to violence.
When he talked about the changes that are taking place in El Salvador, he was beaming with pride. He couldn’t have been happier that El Salvadorans once again feel safe in their own country after decades of it being plagued by civil war and gang violence. He also shared that he eventually plans to repatriate, alongside the many El Salvadorans who’ve already begun doing so.
I can’t help but feel immensely inspired by this, and I can’t wait to visit the country in three weeks.
Looking to Olivia Rodrigo for Sadness
Now, don’t go thinking that all this talking with these hopeful Bitcoiners from around the globe left me in any sort of sustained state of happiness.
I’m still quite sad about what’s happening here in the US and in most of the world. And when I get sad, I turn to sad songs, which sometimes help me feel less sad, oddly enough.
So, I figured I’d shared with you a list of the best songs on the new Olivia Rodrigo album, “Guts”, ranked numerically just in case maybe you too needed some sadness to relieve your sadness.
the grudge
the grudge
the grudge
the grudge
the grudge
the grudge
the grudge
the grudge
the grudge
the grudge
the grudge
the grudge
Now, let’s talk markets…
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