On March 6, 2019, I released a podcast episode entitled Federal Debt, The Ticking Bomb

That No One Is Willing To Defuse. It was episode 628 of The Podcast.

The following day, March 7, 2019, I released episode 629, which was called In Depth Version,

Federal Debt, The Ticking Bomb That No One Is Willing To Defuse.

And I explained very carefully, in great detail, the exact numbers of the fiscal situation

in the United States. I closed those podcast episodes by explaining to you why I was actually

taking so much time to explain it. I explained to you that it's my opinion that inevitably

the US government will default on its obligations. And by the way, default happens in various

forms. I think the United States will continue to be strong, continue to be successful, but

it will default on its obligations. But I explained to you why that's not a crazy outlandish

theory. And I said, here is what the government will need to do in order to bring its financial

situation back into a position of fiscal sustainability. I explained the numbers of exactly

what you would need to see. That was four years ago that I made that podcast episode.

And I thought it would be useful here four years later to talk about the improvements

in the situation. And hopefully you just fell off your chair laughing. Short story is there

are no improvements. Everything has gotten worse over these intervening four years. Of

course, we've faced the COVID crisis and all kinds of things that have gotten worse. And

in that episode, I quoted extensively from Brian Riedel from the Manhattan Institute,

his paper called a Comprehensive Federal Budget Plan to avert a debt crisis. And in

today's episode, I want to begin with some comments from a recent op-ed that he wrote in

the New York Times because he gives a good and accurate look, a very short and accurate

look at the current numbers facing the US American situation. The op-ed was entitled

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