driving these big moves higher. Well, joining us now for an exclusive interview is Michael Steinman, CEO of Paname American Silver. Michael, welcome to the show.Thanks for joining us. >> Thanks for having me. >> So, what is driving silver to these record levels.>> Well, there's really two things to silver, right. A, it's a really important uh metal for the economy. It's a critical metal actually right now declared in the US as a critical uh metal and added to the critical strategic uh list for metals uh in ...

Fiscal Discipline and Deficit Concerns - The US is facing a \$2 trillion annual deficit [2] - The national debt has increased from \$1 trillion to \$38 trillion over the past 40 years [3] - The current deficit is 6% of GDP and is projected to rise to 8-9% by the end of the decade [7][8] - Republicans are proposing \$1.5 trillion in budget cuts over 10 years, representing a small fraction (1.875%) of the total \$80 trillion budget [3] Healthcare Affordability and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) - Healthcare costs have almost tripled since the Affordable Care Act was passed 15 years ago [11] - The average family is now paying \$35,000 to \$40,000 per year for healthcare [13] - Concerns exist that expanding the ACA will primarily benefit large insurance companies, with 80% of the money potentially going to them [17] - Some argue that the ACA has been unaffordable and may have exacerbated healthcare inflation [6] Potential Consequences of Healthcare Cuts - Cuts to healthcare programs could lead to approximately 100,000 excess premature deaths over the next decade [9] - Reducing health insurance coverage may have adverse health consequences for families who have already budgeted for current premiums [19] Fraud in Healthcare Programs - Government auditors estimate over \$200 billion in fraud occurs annually in Medicare and Medicaid, involving ineligible individuals receiving benefits [4] Future Fiscal Challenges - Social Security and Medicare trust funds are set to expire within the next decade, posing significant fiscal challenges [20]

Let's bring in Joe Leavia, counselor to the Treasury Secretary to discuss this. Joe, uh, it's great to have you on to to kind of flesh this out a little bit. And I I guess first of all, most important I would be to get at what the drivers of this narrower deficit are and whether they're structural, whether they're durable, whether they're going to continue because I mean you hear things about obviously tariff revenue, uh pretty high capital gains tax collections and then some maybe foregone spending that ma ...

Joining us tonight is the Republican senator for Kentucky, Dr. . Ran Paul. He's the chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee and was the only Republican to vote no on the continuing resolution.Senator Paul, thanks for joining Top Story tonight. Like I said, you did not vote for this Republican spending bill. You have said it prolongs the Biden era spending.Can you tell our viewers more about your decision and the government shutdown. >> Whenever spending bills come before the Senate, I look at what i ...

All right, we got some breaking news out of Washington DC. The Treasury Department is releasing its monthly interest statement and Megan Cassella is all over the story. She's got the details.Megan, Don, that's exactly right. This time it was another big deficit month for the US Treasury. The US running a $345 billion deficit for the month of August.That compares with about $300 billion expected among economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Now, on an adjusted basis, that accounts for standard calendar differences ...

Fiscal Deficit & Debt - The US deficit is at $2 trillion [1] - The national debt is projected to increase from $30 trillion to $50 trillion in 10 years [1] - Current deficits of 6.5% to 7% are unsustainable [2] Fiscal Policy & Solutions - Tariffs will partially offset the deficit [1] - Tax breaks should be re-evaluated and potentially eliminated [3] - Multi-year budgeting could improve fiscal management [3] - Increased tax collection is a potential solution [3] - Congress needs to actively engage in responsible fiscal policy, including line-by-line budgeting [3]

Three months ago, Ray, you said that we were about three years away from the US going broke. A lot has changed since then. The tariffs, liberation day, the markets, no spasms from that.And Moody's downgraded the US debt. They were the third of the ratings agencies to do so. How close are we now, if not 3 years away.>> Well, it really depends on how we're going to deal with this. We are at a juncture right now. If we can soon, very soon, while the economy is still good, cut the deficit to 3% of GDP, which is ...

Government Spending & Taxation - Government spending is viewed as taxation [1] - Lowering employment and evolving a different mindset inside the government are happening [1] Economic Growth & Deficit - Getting growth going is the key to lowering the deficit [2]

Tax Policy & Economic Growth - The new tax policy allows companies to immediately write off 100% of the cost of new equipment in the year of purchase, instead of depreciating it over several years [1][3][4][5] - This 100% expensing is considered a significant pro-growth component of the tax bill, incentivizing equipment purchases, boosting manufacturing, and creating jobs [4][5][11][13] - Senator Langford argues that full expensing is beneficial to the economy and businesses, especially small businesses and manufacturers, by improving their cash flow and reducing the need to borrow money for taxes [3][4][7] Deficit & Budgetary Impact - The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores the 100% expensing as a deficit increase due to its 10-year window scoring method, which doesn't account for depreciation beyond that period [6] - However, in real terms, the policy doesn't necessarily affect the actual deficit, as the depreciation would occur regardless, either in a single year or spread out over multiple years [9] - Other tax cuts, such as those on tips and overtime, are not considered as progrowth as the full expensing policy, although they provide tax relief to specific groups [10][11][12]

Fiscal Policy & Debt - The bill is projected to add $4 trillion to the national debt [2] - The bill could lead to deficits reaching 8% of GDP, a level almost unprecedented during peacetime without external shocks [2] - Future reconciliation packages are promised to cut the deficit, but the means to achieve this, especially without raising taxes on the wealthy, are unclear [6][7] Tax Implications & Distribution - The tax breaks in the bill may negatively impact poorer, working-class Americans while benefiting the wealthy [3] - Approximately 60% of the benefits are expected to go to individuals earning over $220,000 [14] - Certain aspects of the bill, such as no tax on tips, the child tax credit, and permanent no tax on overtime, could be supported in isolation [14] Market & Economic Impact - The bond market's reaction to the bill has been surprisingly muted [8] - There is a concern that tariff policy is slowing the economy, which, combined with massive deficit spending, could put pressure on interest rates [10] - Permanent expensing and making tax cuts permanent could be attractive to businesses and spur investment [12][13]