MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
Slippery Slope
tRump says he wants the USA to create and invest in a Sovereign Wealth Fund. A Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) is a state-owned (in this instance the USA being the “state”). investment fund that manages a country’s financial assets. Some of our individual states already have their own SWF’s, Alaska, New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho, Texas are a few. SWF’s are intended and created to achieve long-term economic stability and preserve wealth for the state’s future generations.
There are more than 100 SWF’s around the world. The countries include Saudi Arabia, Norway, the UAE and more. Their combined assets are valued at over $10 trillion dollars. Mostly their revenues come from minerals, oil and gas and public lands.
Typically SWF revenue can come from the sale of a country’s natural resources or from under-spending a budget. Other revenues might be taking stakes in private companies the US works with. Think pharmaceutical companies that produce at our country’s request, like the Covid vaccine.
Now consider this, the USA has been operating under an annual budget deficit for more than two decades now. Our budget has become dependent on larger amounts of borrowed funds. In 2024 our deficit was $1.8 trillion, $1.38 billion or %8 more than in 2023. So where would the USA acquire the revenue flow to fund a SWF? We already need every last red cent to operate this country, and then some.
tRump has suggested the following:
1. Taking equity in TikTok. He’s already in talks with “multiple people” about TikTok’s purchase. Really? And who owns TikTok? A Chinese held internet company.
2. Using the proceeds of his applied tariffs. Really? Like the tariffs he keeps levying and then eliminating on an almost daily basis?
3. Using inventory from the Department of Defense. Oh yes, let’s place a lien on our nation’s defense system(s).
tRump’s oligarchs have suggested using our Bitcoin. The USA has seized about 215,000 Bitcoin from criminal activity. Right now it’s worth around $21 billion. And tomorrow, who knows? It may sink to $10 billion or less. A very volatile investment.
How about using government pensions? Or funds in Social Security and Medicare? But I saved the best for last. How about taking equity in some of the businesses his oligarchs own? Then the oligarchs would receive revenue from We the People. Our tax dollars flowing directly into their pockets.
If tRump pushes the SWF idea, it would have to pass Congress. we all know where their fealty lies. Our nation’s fiscal survival is at stake here.