Peter Schiff, the chief economist of Europac and best-selling author, has blasted the recent bipartisan deal regarding the United States debt ceiling. According to Schiff, the proposal fails to address the already inflated budget, allowing rises in several budget areas without supervision, which could increase the U.S. national debt by at least $4 trillion in the next two years.
Peter Schiff Criticizes Debt Limit Deal
Peter Schiff, gold bug and chief economist at Europac, has blasted the recently reached bipartisan agreement regarding the U.S. national debt limit. Schiff considers the proposed two-year deal, which is said to suspend the debt ceiling, insufficient, as it allows several budget lines to continue increasing, capping only specific expenses.
On this, Schiff stated:
The deal to raise the debt ceiling allows military and entitlement spending to increase, and only caps discretionary spending at 2023 levels for two years.
Schiff, who has criticized the U.S. government’s handling of the debt ceiling issue before, believes the numbers determined for this year, even if frozen, are still excessive. He explains that the debt ceiling deal will allow a rise of at least $4 trillion in the U.S. national debt during the next two years.
To Schiff, the real problem is not the debt ceiling but the debt that will continue to increase.
Suspension vs. Raise
Schiff also has opinions about why Democrats and Republicans approved a debt suspension deal instead of a determined limit raise for the next two years.
Schiff explained:
The reason [the president] and … McCarthy agreed to suspend the debt ceiling, rather than to raise it, is to ensure the debt doesn’t hit the ceiling during the 2-year period. Achieving this by way an increase would require a record $5 trillion hike, far too embarrassing to vote for.
If finally approved, the proposed debt deal would also postpone further debt discussions until after the next U.S. presidential election.
Now politicians will face the challenge of approving this debt deal in the U.S. Congress before June 5, signaled by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen as the date when government funds could be exhausted.
However, like Schiff, some have already stated their problems with how the proposal is structured, voicing opposition to passing the bill as is. Texas Representative Chip Roy declared he would try to stop the bill in the House, explaining that it had almost no spending cuts.
What do you think about Peter Schiff and the debt limit deal? Tell us in the comments section below.
