Eric Sprott and Rick Rule Skewer the U.S. with James West on Midas Letter Money

Eric Sprott and Rick Rule Skewer the U.S. with James West on Midas Letter Money: Rick Rule: That’s a great question. You know if you assume that the government numbers are correct and we’re saving at about 3% of GDP that means we’re saving at about 3% of 14 trillion dollars a year or 500 billion dollars a year. You have 13 trillion dollars on balance sheet liabilities and about 65 trillion dollars on off balance sheet liabilities. So you’re trying to service — never pay down, 80 trillion dollars now in obligations with 500 billion dollars a year free cash flow. That doesn’t work.

I am in fact a credit analyst. And if people ask me to talk about the US Federal securities, and rate them the way a conventional credit analyst would — according to something resembling gap — they’re insolvent. I have no interest in lending those guys money. Now, they point to the fact that that they have extraordinary security. I’m a US citizen and taxpayer. What they’re referring to is me and the fact that I am the security for that is particularly uncomfortable.