Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has sounded the alarm on the U.S. debt crisis, predicting that a “heart attack” could strike within three years. With the national debt already at $36 trillion and a $1.8 trillion deficit looming, Dalio’s warning highlights the very real threat of an economic collapse.
The situation is grim. Rising national debt combined with the deficit creates a deadly cocktail for the U.S. economy. If Dalio’s prediction holds, the bond markets could buckle under the weight of increased borrowing, leading to sky-high interest rates and a cascade of economic consequences. The “debt death spiral” Dalio warns about isn’t just a theoretical scenario. It’s a very real possibility. If the government continues to borrow at unsustainable levels, the cost of borrowing will keep rising, further burdening the economy.
This escalating debt would cause massive inflation, erode the value of the dollar, and push the economy toward a financial meltdown. It would mirror the economic chaos of past decades—the stagflation of the 1970s or the Great Depression of the 1930s, where high unemployment and soaring costs crippled society. It’s not just an issue of numbers either. The impact of a financial collapse would be deeply felt across the nation. Jobs would be lost, public services could grind to a halt, and the financial system would likely unravel.
Dalio, with decades of experience navigating financial crises, advises investors to shift their focus to gold as a hedge against the impending chaos. “If you don’t own gold, you know neither history nor economics. In gold, the sky is not the limit; history is,” Dalio states. As the U.S. dollar faces further devaluation, gold could serve as a critical safeguard for those looking to protect their wealth.
Meanwhile, Washington continues to fail in holding itself accountable. Congress’s applause for DOGE’s exposure of government waste and fraud speaks volumes about how broken the system truly is. Over $2.7 trillion has been lost due to improper payments and fraud since 2003, with billions more squandered during the pandemic. Yet Congress remains committed to funding these bloated programs, ignoring the fact that they are part of the problem.
Under Trump and Musk, DOGE’s audits revealed mind-boggling examples of taxpayer waste: $20 million for an Iraqi Sesame Street puppet show, $1.5 million for Serbian DEI programs, and $341,000 in fraudulent unemployment claims. Even though these revelations have forced lawmakers to acknowledge the systemic failures, little has changed. The hypocrisy is glaring. Republicans praise DOGE for addressing fraud while continuing to fund the same corrupt systems, and Democrats criticize it for “overreach” while ignoring the very fraud they claim to fight.
The bottom line is simple. Unless Congress stops rubber-stamping budgets filled with waste, the U.S. will continue down a dangerous path. Taxpayers will keep paying for the incompetence and corruption, while the system continues to deteriorate. Dalio’s warning should be a wake-up call for anyone paying attention. The debt crisis is real, and it’s only a matter of time before it hits.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ray-dalio-issues-dire-warning-114500115.html