According to a report from CNN Business, the nation’s total public debt outstanding closed at $31.1 trillion on Monday, according to Treasury Department data published Tuesday. This particular milestone comes at a time of historically high inflation, rising interest rates and growing economic uncertainty. Incredibly, outstanding debt has climbed nearly $8 trillion since the beginning of 2020, and it's increased by $1 trillion since February of 2022.

In today's episode of The Higher Standard, Chris and Saied take a deeper look into this news and the reasons behind it (looking at you, Inflation Reduction Act).

They discuss the reasons why you shouldn’t buy real estate in some major markets unless you see a 10% drop in value from where you were.

Chris and Saied look at the issue of real estate numbers, such as home values, mortgage application volume, etc. and why the amount of interpretation involved means that the trends become more important than the specific numbers.

They also discuss an article stating that a recent report from KPMG shows that over 50% of American CEOs are considering workforce reductions over the next six months, possibly as a response to the increase of remote workers during the pandemic.

Join Chris and Saied for this fascinating conversation.

Enjoy!

What You’ll Learn in this Show:

• Why the Inflation Reduction Act is one of the key factors that caused national debt to jump by over a trillion dollars in the last eight months.
• The reasons why homebuyers should hesitate to purchase in major markets, unless they see a 10% drop in value from where they were.
• Why the amount of interpretation involved in real estate market data aggregation means that trends become more useful than the specific numbers.
• How many companies are responding to the hybrid workforce that was born from the pandemic.
• And so much more...

Resources:

"Higher Interest Rates Will Raise Interest Costs on the National Debt" (article from Peter G. Peterson Foundation)

"U.S. Apartment Demand Plunges in 3rd Quarter as New Leasing Stalls More than Expected" (article from RealPage Analytics)

"US home prices are now posting their biggest monthly drops since 2009" (Bloomberg BusinessWeek via Instagram)

"High mortgage rates, tight supply and economic uncertainty: Here’s what’s happening with home prices" (article from CNBC)

"Mortgage applications plummet 14% as higher interest rates and Hurricane Ian crush demand" (article from CNBC)

"U.S. job openings drop sharply, labor market starting to loosen" (article from Reuters)

"Fed’s Bostic wants to pause after December rate hike" (article from MarketWatch)

"Over 50% of CEOs say they’re considering cutting jobs over the next 6 months — and remote workers may be the first go to" (article from MarketWatch)