The CEO of financial advisory firm deVere Group, Nigel Green, warns that US debt is likely to meteorically rise as he believes the government will struggle to pay off the interest of its $31.4 trillion obligation.
Reacting to the bipartisan deal that saw the lifting of the debt ceiling, Green that the debt held by the world’s largest economy could shoot by over 60% from its current level of $31 trillion to $50 trillion.
Green says that if the US economy witnesses a recession, the government will likely have to incur more debt just to meet interest payments.
“They’ve come to a compromise. It has the potential to have benefits for everybody in America and indeed for the globe because if America picks up, that’s good news for the global economy.
What’s the negative for Americans in particular? Well, the debt is continuing to increase. In other words, right now we’re at $31 trillion. It takes 8% to payback-adjust their debt of the taxes.
And you would say, ‘Well it’s only that percentage.’ Well, you can argue that, yes. But if it continues to increase and there is a downturn at some stage, then of course America is going to struggle to pay its debts.
I ask myself the question: it’s $31 trillion right now, is it more likely to go to $50 trillion or $25 (trillion)?
Ultimately, (the) reality is it’s more likely to go to $50 trillion than it is to go up to $25 trillion. So we’ve got this continuing situation. It’s not a bust right now but (at) some stage in the future, America has to repay its debt.”
According to the deVere Group CEO, the debt ceiling deal will likely be beneficial for the economy and the stock market in the short term. In the long run, Green says that the lifting of the debt ceiling could give the US dollar a boost.
“Longer term, you’d think that the dollar will appreciate, at least longer term.
Right now shorter term, good for the economy, good for the stock market.”
