The numbers are out. They’re not just bad. They’re rigged. Senator Rand Paul laid it bare: Congress is spending $2 trillion more than it takes in. That shortfall doesn’t vanish. The Federal Reserve buys the debt. Then Congress pays the Fed interest. The Fed, in turn, pays interest to banks for holding reserves.
Congress spends $2 trillion more than its revenues, the Fed then buys this debt.
Congress then pays the Fed interest.
The Fed then pays interest to big banks to keep cash reserves.
This is how govt makes the rich richer.
But it gets worse. According economist Judy…
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 17, 2025
According to economist Judy Shelton, 44% of the interest the Fed pays on reserves goes to foreign banks. That’s not a rounding error. That’s nearly half of the payout stream flowing offshore. The Fed is currently paying 5.4% interest on those reserves. That’s higher than most Americans earn on savings. It’s higher than the average mortgage rate in 2019. And it’s being handed out to institutions that didn’t vote, didn’t pay taxes, and don’t answer to U.S. citizens.
The federal deficit for this year is projected at $1.83 trillion. That’s not war spending. That’s not emergency relief. That’s baseline. The Department of Health and Human Services alone burned through $1.7 trillion last year. That’s one agency. The total federal budget has ballooned 51.7% since 2019, according to DOGE data. The spending curve isn’t bending. It’s accelerating.
The Fed’s balance sheet now sits at $7.3 trillion. That’s after modest reductions. It peaked above $9 trillion during the pandemic. The Fed prints money to buy debt. Then it pays banks to hold that money. That’s not monetary policy. That’s a wealth transfer. The banks don’t lend it. They park it. They collect interest. The taxpayer foots the bill.
Sources:
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5314189-rand-paul-house-gop-budget-bill/