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The Death Spiral of Western Economies with Dan Tubb

Peter McCormack

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The Death Spiral of Western Economies with Dan Tubb - WBD595 Peter McCormack

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Dan Tubb is a podcaster and former venture capitalist. In this interview, we discuss the unprecedented levels of debt within the US and UK. Dan goes through one by one the various options open to the state to bring debt levels back down to manageable levels; tl;dr “none of those options is going to be viable.”

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Over the past few podcasts, we have discussed state indebtedness. As part of these discussions, we have referenced the amazing USDebtClock.org resource that provides real-time data on debt in the US and across the world. At the time of writing, US debt stands at over $31.4 trillion, whilst UK debt is $3.4 trillion. These figures are so large and unfathomable that we have almost become blind to their meaning.

Dan Tubb has been focusing on these figures, to both put them into more meaningful contexts, and to assess the options governments have for paying them off. In summary, debt levels are off the scale: adding outstanding liabilities to US debt results in a total debt worth $1 million for every American adult. In those terms, it's easier to understand that there are no real viable options for paying down this level of debt.

The issue is that as citizens are generally tuned out: there is a general assumption that the subject matter is just too complex, and further, those in power must have answers to these issues. After listening to Dan’s explanations you’ll suddenly realise that these aren’t complex subjects to comprehend. The data is literally there for anyone to see. And further, it is then obvious that governments are consciously not dealing with increasingly high levels of unsustainable debt.

So, why have such discussions been missing from MSM? There are some great journalists who attempt to cover specific areas. But nobody is yet screaming that the house is on fire although we’re all feeling the heat and hearing the cracking of timber.

The problem is that governments have limited ways of keeping the system from falling apart. Increasing levels of control are openly being discussed in government institutions, particularly digital identities and CBDCs. Some believe such measures are designed to avert civil unrest. So, it’s up to those who have got the receipts to start banging the drum before it’s too late.

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00:01:39: Introductions
00:02:53: Dan's background
00:09:12: The US Debt Clock
00:13:19: UK Government debt
00:23:40: The individual debt burden
00:28:13: Breakdown of public spending
00:41:36: Solutions to government debt…
00:42:19: …1: default on debt
00:49:00: …2: cut spending
00:55:37: …3: tax the rich
00:57:46: …4: raise growth
01:02:11: UK Prime Ministers
01:08:31: Likely outcomes, and the imminent death spiral
01:19:57: Civil unrest and state surveillance
01:28:11: CBDCs
01:35:37: Spreading the message, and the Bitcoin solution
01:48:37: Final comments

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