FOX Business contributor Gary Kaltbaum reacts to President Trump declaring America's “golden age” for “making money.”
President Trump was sworn in Amid much fanfare and celebration, he returned to work on Monday. He started with a hiring freeze for federal workers and a freeze on regulations as part of an executive order, but taming the U.S. finances may prove more challenging.
“The biggest headwind is probably huge debt and a very, very bloated budget, a lot of which includes spending. It's money that hasn't really been spent at this point but is still going to go out the door. You know, promise. AJ Anthony, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told FOX Business before Trump took office.
U.S. President Donald Trump reads his second executive order during the inaugural parade at Capital One Arena on Inauguration Day for his second term in office, in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barria/Reuters)
national debt — which measures how much the U.S. owes its creditors — as tracked by the U.S. Treasury Department, is more than $36 trillion and growing.
President Trump's key fiscal deadlines
On the budget, last Friday, non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest 10-year economic and budget outlook, which shows the federal government is on track to break the debt record of nearly 80 years ago.
Melania Trump's shockers at American Designers
From 2025 to 2035, the debt will increase as spending increases in Social Security, Medicare and interest payments outpace income growth, CBO Director Philip Sogel told reporters.
The federal government is expected to invest $1.9 trillion Budget deficit In fiscal year 2025, the budget deficit is projected to decline briefly over the next two years before resuming growth. The short-term reduction is tied to the expiration of parts of Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which expires at the end of this year. However, Trump's Treasury pick Scott Bessant has vowed not to let that happen. Bessent is expected to go through the approval process.
Scott Bessant's promise to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent
UNITED STATES – JANUARY 16: Scott Bessant, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Treasury Secretary, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Building on Thursday, January 16, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images/Getty Images)
We must make 2017 permanent Tax reduction “President Trump was the first president in modern times to recognize this need,” Bessant told the Senate Finance Committee during his confirmation hearing. to change its trade policy and defend American workers.”
U.S. President Donald Trump reviews troops during his inauguration ceremony in the Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Greg Nash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
CBO's analysis is based on current law, so changes in tax policies and federal spending could change these figures.
another devil in disguise; Fed easing cycle aimed at combating inflation. Policymakers cut rates three times in 2024, a 50 basis point cut followed by two 0.25 basis point moves. However, the 10-year Treasury yield, which sets the rate for several borrowing benchmarks, including mortgage rates, remains above 4 percent. According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates hit 7 percent, rising for the fifth week in a row.
Investors celebrated the latest consumer price index reading, which came as no surprise. The core rate, excluding volatile food and energy, rose 3.2 percent annually in December, less than the 3.3 percent economists had expected. At the first Federal Reserve meeting on January 29, market participants expect no change CME's FedWatch tool.
| ticker | security | the last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BNO | US Brent Oil Fund – USD ACC | 32.18 | -0.47 |
-1.44% |
| use | US Petroleum Fund – USD ACC | 81.11 | -1.41 |
-1.71% |
| GLD | SPDR GOLD SHARES TRUST – USD ACC | 253.13 | +3.86 |
+1.55% |
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However, inflation remains a wild card. Nymax and Brent are up more than 8% this year, and gold is trading just below its all-time high of $2,788.50 an ounce.