Ari Fleischer describes the ‘lowest moment' he's witnessed in US politics
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Yahoo
42 minutes ago
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The U.S. debt outlook is so dire it now resembles the student loan crisis, former White House economic adviser says
Jared Bernstein, who previously served as the chair of President Joe Biden's Council of Economic Advisers, has had a change of heart when it comes to U.S. debt. After being a longtime dove, he has become a hawk 'because our nation's budget math just got a lot more dangerous.' He cited President Donald Trump's tariffs and tax cuts. The U.S. is inviting a debt shock if it continues on its current trajectory, which is starting to look like unsustainable student loans, according to Jared Bernstein, who previously served as the chair of President Joe Biden's Council of Economic Advisers. In a New York Times op-ed on Wednesday, he acknowledged that he was once a longtime dove when it came to budget deficits and previously argued that fiscal austerity often does more harm than good. 'No longer. I, like many other longtime doves, am joining the hawks, because our nation's budget math just got a lot more dangerous,' Bernstein wrote. In particular, he pointed to the math around economic growth versus debt interest. Governments can sustain budget deficits if GDP expands faster than the interest rate on their debt, Bernstein explained, citing research from economist Olivier Blanchard. That's where the student debt analogy comes in. College graduates can keep up with monthly payments as long as they haven't borrowed too much and their income is rising faster than their loan bills. 'Conversely, though, if they borrowed to the hilt—and if their student loan debt starts growing faster than their income—they can quickly get in trouble,' Bernstein said. 'And that's where our country is right now.' It's an ominous warning given that delinquency rates have soared among student loan borrowers, resulting in seized wages and credit scores plummeting. That's after the number of Americans with debt from federal student loans more than doubled from 21 million to 45 million between 2000 and 2020, according to the Brookings Institution. Meanwhile, the total amount owed more than quadrupled from $387 billion to $1.8 trillion during that time, growing faster than any other form of household debt. When it comes to the federal government's finances, America's debt costs relative to income used to be more benign. Since the early 2000s, the inflation-adjusted yield on 10-year Treasuries was below the running 10-year forecast for economic growth. But that changed recently, with the two now converging at just above 2%, due in part to government spending during the pandemic and higher inflation—which forced the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates aggressively, dragging yields higher. 'That's a potential game changer for debt sustainability,' Bernstein said. He didn't mention that the Biden administration added trillions to the debt with expansive spending that also stoked inflation. Instead, he pointed to President Donald Trump's economic policies, namely his trade war and the tax-and-spending bill that he signed into law last week. High tariff rates will lower economic growth while boosting inflation and interest rates. At the same time, tax cuts will increase debt and likely to raise the interest costs for servicing it, he added. To help avoid a debt shock that forces the government to precipitously slash spending or raise taxes, Bernstein suggested Congress pre-determine 'break-glass moments' and binding fiscal responses. The U.S. already pays more in interest on its debt than it spends on Medicare and defense. Those interest payments will hit $1 trillion next year, trailing only Social Security as the government's biggest outlay, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a think tank. Meanwhile, Trump's tax cuts and spending are expected to add trillions to the deficit in the coming years, with the total debt-to-GDP ratio surpassing the post-Word War II record soon. 'But that path remains unsustainable: The primary deficit is much larger than usual in a strong economy, the debt-to-GDP ratio is approaching the postwar high, and much higher real interest rates have put the debt and interest expense as a share of GDP on much steeper trajectories than appeared likely last cycle,' Goldman Sachs said in a note last month. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
It's not just Bitcoin: Altcoin XRP's price is also rising. Here's a possible reason why
Earlier today, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of over $118,000 per token, giving many crypto investors hope that the digital coin king may soon surpass the psychologically important barrier of $120,000. What is fractional leadership, and why is it booming now? 5 companies that could hit a $4 trillion market cap after Nvidia Slurpee Day 2025: How to get your free frozen treat at 7-Eleven, Speedway, and Stripes today But Bitcoin isn't the only cryptocurrency significantly on the rise today. The altcoin XRP is also up today—more than 13% over the past 24 hours as of the time of this writing. Here's a possible reason why. In the world of cryptocurrency, you have one king, Bitcoin. Keeping in line with the nobility nomenclature, the title of prince belongs to Ethereum, the second-largest crypto by market cap. The title of duke, then, would go to XRP, the third-largest crypto by market cap. All Bitcoins in the world currently have a market cap of about $2.3 trillion, while Ethereum sits at about $361 billion, and XRP hovers around $161 billion. XRP, then, is one of the bigger so-called altcoins on the market. According to Yahoo Finance data, the current price of XRP (XRP–USD) is right around $2.76 per token. One of the largest holders of XRP is Ripple Labs Inc., a company that offers digital cross-border payment solutions like the decentralized RippleNet. Over the past 24 hours, XRP has seen a significant increase. As of the time of this writing, the coin is trading at around $2.7636 apiece. That's a more than 13% gain in the last day. But why is XRP surging? Any rise or fall in any crypto is usually linked to more than one reason, but over the past few days, investors seem to be more bullish on XRP—and perhaps thanks in part to a specific event. As noted by The Coin Telegraph, on Wednesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hosted a hearing called 'From Wall Street to Web3: Building Tomorrow's Digital Asset Markets.' The event covered a number of topics, as noted by Bitcoin Magazine, including the regulatory environment surrounding crypto. One of the witnesses at the event was Ripple Labs' CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Since that event, XRP has steadily increased. Garlinghouse's presence at the event seems to suggest to some investors that Ripple may have a growing involvement with policymakers in Washington. If so, it may help boost the appeal of XRP, which Ripple owns a lot of. Of course, whether Ripple Labs actually has an increasing involvement with policymakers in D.C. remains to be seen—and even if they do, it doesn't mean XRP is guaranteed any kind of upward trajectory. Still, over the past five days, XRP has surged 20%. While XRP's five-day jump of 20% seems impressive, it's nothing compared to what the coin has done over the past 12 months. Since last July, XRP has surged a staggering 507%, according to data from Yahoo Finance. That's an astounding return compared to its peers. Bitcoin, for example, is up just over 105% in the same period, and Ethereum is down just over 3%. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter:
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an hour ago
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Dave Ramsey's 'Shortest Call in Show History' Came From a 20-Year Listener With $211K Cash and a Mortgage — You Can Probably Guess What He Said
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. When you see a video titled "This Is the Shortest Call in Ramsey Show History," you expect chaos — a prank, a hang-up, maybe someone trying to sell Dave on Bitcoin. But this call wrapped up fast for one reason: the guy already knew the answer. Chad from Augusta, Georgia, finally dialed in after 20 years of loyal listening. His question was simple, but the stakes were high. "I have a mortgage just about ready to pay it off," Chad said. "I'm a real estate agent and... it's a big chunk. I think I'm there, but I'm looking for maybe a final confirmation." The man had $211,000 in cash and a $95,000 mortgage. He wasn't debating a new car or flirting with meme stocks — just wondering if he should write the check. Don't Miss: Warren Buffett once said, "If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die." Here's , starting today. $100k+ in investable assets? – no cost, no obligation. Dave Ramsey didn't miss a beat. "Good Lord. Pay it off today," he said. "What are you doing? You don't need to think about this." And that was that. Even co-host John Delony didn't get a syllable in. The clip, posted to YouTube under its now-famous title, clocks in at barely a minute — and it's racked up over 1.3 million views. To be fair, unloading $95,000 in one shot isn't something most people do lightly. That's nearly half of Chad's liquid savings. The mortgage payments might be manageable. The market might look tempting. And with an unpredictable income like real estate, holding back a little cash can feel like a safety net. Trending: The secret weapon in billionaire investor portfolios that you almost certainly don't own yet. But that's not how Ramsey rolls. "You knew what I was going to say," he told Chad. It was a mic-drop moment — not because it was surprising, but because it was so unapologetically Ramsey. No hedge, no hand-holding. Just facts and finality. Some viewers called the call "oddly satisfying." Others said it's why they've listened for decades: Ramsey keeps it simple and doesn't dance around what he believes. Of course, not everyone agrees with the math. If Chad had paid off the mortgage and invested the remaining $116,000 in an S&P 500 index fund at 7%, he could've earned around $8,120 in a year. A 5% CD? That's $5,800. Meanwhile, if his mortgage rate was 3% — a common figure from the past few years — he'd only be saving about $2,850 in interest. But Ramsey's never claimed to be chasing yield. His philosophy is emotional, not just financial. No payments means no stress, and no stress means freedom. As he's said: "Personal finance is 80% behavior and only 20% head knowledge." For some people, wiping out debt feels like flipping a switch. For Ramsey, it's the whole point. Read Next: In terms of getting money back, . Over the last five years, the price of gold has increased by approximately 83% — Investors like Bill O'Reilly and Rudy Giuliani are . This article Dave Ramsey's 'Shortest Call in Show History' Came From a 20-Year Listener With $211K Cash and a Mortgage — You Can Probably Guess What He Said originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
