The United States has gone from “the richest country in the world” to “bankrupt,” according to an influential financial and business author who laid some of the blame squarely at the feet of President Biden.
Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the bestselling book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” said he has serious concerns about the country’s financial health, particularly its mounting debt.
“America is now bankrupt,” Kiyosaki said on a recent episode of his “Rich Dad Radio Show” podcast. “We are broke.”
“And the question I want to answer today is how [come] America, at one time reportedly the richest country in the world, is now bankrupt?”
Kiyosaki lamented the fact that “it’s so bad” because “America cannot pay the interest on our debt.”
The national debt, which is the total amount of outstanding borrowing by the federal government, stood at $33.8 trillion as of Wednesday.
Kiyosaki said that the federal government owes $1 trillion in interest payments “and we don’t collect that much.”
The average interest rate on the national debt during Fiscal Year 2023 stood at 2.97%.
Jim Clark, the CEO of precious metals dealership Republic Monetary Exchange, told Kiyosaki that when factoring in actual liabilities including entitlements such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the actual debt is closer to $200 trillion.
Clark and Kiyosaki took Biden to task for adding more than $1 trillion to the national debt during the first three months of his term.
“It took us 200 years to get to the first trillion [in debt],” according to Clark. “Biden was able to add another trillion to the $33 [trillion] that we have now in three months.”
“Well, thank you, Joe, and all you liberal Democrats out there and you college professors out there,” Kiyosaki said.
The author said the US erred in 1971 when it abandoned the gold standard. He is an advocate of investing in precious metals including gold and silver.
In March 2021, Biden, who was in office less than three months, signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a $1.8 trillion spending measure which included pandemic-era stimulus payments directed primarily to Americans earning less than $75,000.
Biden’s time in office has also coincided with record levels of inflation.
Since Biden took office, prices have increased cumulatively by 17.4% — which is second only to Jimmy Carter, who presided over the highest inflation rate (26.2%) in the country’s history.
Before May, the US saw 25 consecutive months of declining real wages — which is also known as “adjusted wages,” or the amount a person can expect to receive after factoring in the inflation rate.
Since Biden took office, the typical American family has effectively lost $7,300 off their annual income.
Inflation rose 3.1% in November, which was down slightly from October’s 3.2% reading. The Fed has hiked interest rates in the last two years in hopes of bringing inflation down to 2%.
Fed chair Jerome Powell said last week the historic tightening of monetary policy is likely over, with a discussion of cuts in borrowing costs coming “into view.”
But two Fed governors threw cold water on the celebration, saying it was “premature” to be thinking about interest rate cuts.
The Post has sought comment from the White House.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
