Speeding Up to the Edge of the Cliff

It's interesting to note that the counter to my left has recently crossed over the $10 Trillion deficit mark. If it seems like it has sped up the count tremendously over the past few weeks, it is not your imagination. The following chart shows our deficit climbing since the year 2000.

9/30/2001 - ($5,807,463,412,200.06)
9/30/2002 - ($6,228,235,965,597.16)
9/30/2003 - ($6,783,231,062,743.62)
9/30/2004 - ($7,379,052,696,330.32)
9/30/2005 - ($7,932,709,661,723.50)
9/30/2006 - ($8,506,973,899,215.23)
9/30/2007 - ($9,007,653,372,262.48)
9/30/2008 - ($10,024,724,896,912.49)

Over the past fiscal year (Sept 30, 2007 through Sept 30, 2008) our deficit has grown by $1 Trillion. With the current policies now being implemented by our leaders, the deficit is predicted by many to grow by over $2 Trillion this fiscal year. (Sept 30, 2008 through Sept 30, 2009)

Does that sound crazy? In the past 16 days, the first of this current fiscal year, our national debt has grown by $331 Billion. 16 Days. It has taken 16 days for the government to borrow 1/3 of what it borrowed all of last year.

When you factor in all unfunded liabilities, including social security and medicare, recent Fed officials have estimated it to be over $110 Trillion. What does this mean? It means every day we move one step closer to the rest of the world realizing that if they lend the US money they will never be paid back.

Keep your eyes on the bond market, the dollar index, and especially keep your eyes on the price of gold.