$9 Trillion Time Bomb: What Happens When the U.S. Can’t Afford Its Debt?
Ken McElroy Show
Ken McElroy
4.8 • 692 Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2025
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, Ken & Danille McElroy reveal the overlooked crisis hitting the U.S. economy—over $9 trillion in national debt is maturing and needs to be refinanced at double the old interest rates. With interest costs already eclipsing defense spending, this looming shift could force the Fed to cut rates not for inflation—but to avoid fiscal collapse.
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ABOUT KEN: Ken is the author of the bestselling books The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing, The Advanced Guide to Real Estate Investing, and The ABC’s of Property Management. With over two decades of experience in real estate investing, Ken McElroy is passionate about sharing the good life by helping real estate investors grow and prosper. This podcast is a place for Ken to discuss numerous topics connected to real estate investing, including finance, budgeting, the entrepreneur mindset, and creating passive income. Ken offers a wealth of personal experiences, practical advice, success stories, and even some informative setbacks, all presented here to educate and inspire. Whether you’re a new or seasoned investor, the information and resources on this channel will set you on a path where you and your investments can thrive.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | How wants rates to stay high? Well, Trump wants them lowered. But the one thing nobody is talking about is one third of the U.S. debt is coming due at the end of June and needs to be refinanced. |
| 0:17.8 | Yeah, that's the big thing. Like, it's not really being talked about right now. |
| 0:21.5 | I don't think the media even pays attention. So we all know that, you know, we're trillions and |
| 0:27.0 | trillions and dead. I was digging into this. We've got all kinds of numbers for you. So rather than, |
| 0:33.4 | you know, get to macro, I think the reality is, just like if you guys had a commercial building |
| 0:42.1 | or a multifamily building or even a home where your debt was maturing, the U.S. is facing this |
| 0:49.0 | exact same thing. So Yellen did a whole bunch of short-term renewals, and a lot of them are renewing. So I think |
| 0:58.2 | what we, well, we know what we have, because we were digging into it this weekend, we have |
| 1:02.7 | really low rates on that debt. Yeah, like the debt right now that we have is at one to two percent. |
| 1:08.7 | And some of that goes back all the way to 2010, |
| 1:11.8 | which surprised me. So this isn't only just a COVID issue. Like some of it was refinanced |
| 1:16.9 | in 2020, but a lot of it stems all the way back from the Great Recession. So when you got a third |
| 1:22.2 | of your debt, so we went back and did the math. So when we have a third, I'll let you tell the number. |
| 1:27.1 | So when we have a third of the'll let you tell the number. So when we have a third |
| 1:28.3 | of the debt renewing this year, a lot of it in June. We've got the Fed meeting in the next couple |
| 1:36.5 | days. Then they meet again in June on 17th, 18th, and then they meet on at the end of July. So this, |
| 1:43.6 | in my opinion, is the reason that Trump is all over Powell, youth, and then they meet on at the end of July. So this, in my opinion, is the reason |
| 1:45.6 | that Trump is all over Powell, you know, and I'm going to fire him, whatever. He's got a year |
| 1:50.5 | left and then he moves to the board governors. So, and I don't think he can fire him. Well, let's |
| 1:56.4 | break that down a little bit. So basically what we're saying is right now our interest rates are at 2% or less. |
| 2:02.9 | They right now, where interest rates, if they stay where they're at now, are going to go to |
| 2:07.3 | four and a half to five percent. So that's a huge jump, right? And so the problem is that our debt payments |
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