FROM THE HILL: Billionaire Ray Dalio warned that the U.S. government’s surging debt and “irreconcilable differences” in the country are creating a worrying financial and political environment.
According to U.S. Treasury Department fiscal data, the total gross national debt reached more than $37.8 trillion Tuesday. Debt held by the public — which indicates the portion of the federal government’s total debt borrowed from actors outside the U.S. government, such as corporations, banks and other entities — stands at more than $30 trillion, almost even with the country’s gross domestic product.
In a Bloomberg TV interview that aired Friday, the founder of investment management firm Bridgewater Associates said the U.S. government’s debt is rising too quickly, creating a period similar to the years preceding World War II.
“There’s a dynamic about debt,” Dalio said. “When debt and debt service rise relative to your income, it’s like plaque in the arteries that then begins to squeeze out the spending.”
“One man’s debts are another man’s assets,” he added. “If those don’t give a good real return, they will sell.”
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