Weren't We Promised Spending Cuts? -

Weren't we promised spending cuts?
And it wasn't just President Trump. Joe Biden promised spending cuts several years ago. And yet the federal government just ran the third-largest budget deficit in history.
In this episode of the Midweek Memo podcast, host Mike Maharrey uses a biased report claiming the deficit was due to tax cuts as a springboard to tell the whole story. He breaks down the data and explains the ramifications, all while dissecting misleading mainstream analysis. 
He also explains why never-ending deficits are extremely important to gold and silver investors. 
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Mike opens the show with a pronouncement. 
<blockquote>
"I’m biased. 
"And by the way, you’re biased.
"Your neighbor is biased. So are your parents.
"The guy telling you the news? Biased. 
"In fact – everybody is biased!"
</blockquote>
Mike explains what this means. 
<blockquote>
"We all have the tendency to favor certain things, points of view, people, and perspectives. Our life experience, background, upbringing, religion, philosophical outlook, and a billion other things lead to biases. And here’s the thing – even if we’re aware of our biases, we can’t really escape them. They are part of our psychological landscape."
</blockquote>
Mike applies this idea to journalism.
<blockquote>
"As regular listeners know, I went to journalism school. Of course, we talked a lot about bias. We were told we should write 'unbiased' stories. It’s one of the 10 commandments of journalism. I pretty quickly came to the conclusion that it’s impossible to write an unbiased story because, well, I’m biased. But what I can do is write a balanced story. I can tell all sides and represent them fairly. I can endeavor not to editorialize or insert my opinion. And I can do my best to include all relevant information, including stuff that undercuts my point of view."
</blockquote>
Mike explains that he ran across a glaring example of mainstream media bias in a story about the federal budget deficit.
He asserts that "fake news" accusations are often overplayed. 
<blockquote>
"However, mainstream media bias is a thing, and you should be aware of it, even in financial news reporting."
</blockquote>
He found it in a <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/article/the-us-federal-budget-deficit-for-2026-just-came-in-its-1992-trillion-191917669.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo Finance report</a> on the 2026 federal budget deficit. 
<blockquote>
"On Friday, the Treasury Department released the September 2026 Monthly Treasury Statement, revealing the federal government ran a deficit of nearly $2 trillion. $1.99 trillion, to be precise. It was the third-largest budget shortfall in history. The only larger deficits were during the COVID years. Now, if you follow politics at all, you know Democrats like to blame large budget deficits on tax cuts, and Yahoo Finance Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul was bound and determined to advance this narrative."
</blockquote>
Mike notes that Werschkul's report was pretty standard until a subsection headlined "Revenue downturn."
<blockquote>
"Let’s just pause here for a moment. When you read that subheading, you naturally assume that federal revenues fell last year, right? Hold that thought."
</blockquote>
In the first paragraph of the subsection, Werschkul asserts, "The revenue side of the U.S. government's budget equation has also faltered on some fronts in 2026, in part due to tax cuts implemented by Trump's ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’”
Mike draws the logical conclusion.
<blockquote>
"There you have it. Revenue fell because the Republicans cut taxes! It’s the standard left-wing argument."
</blockquote>
But Mike points out Werschkul left something out of his reporting.
<blockquote>
"While he mentions how much revenue the federal government collected last year in the first paragraph (It was $5.4 trillion, by the way), he never puts it into any context. He fails to compare this year's receipts to last year. In fact, the federal government collected 3.2 percent more than it did in 2025. Isn't that at least a little bit relevant here?"
</blockquote>
Mike notes that federal receipts have increased over the last three years — by nearly 20 percent.
<blockquote>
"This is not a revenue problem. It’s a spending problem. Federal outlays grew by 5.5 percent in 2026. For the life of me, I can’t figure out how a veteran reporter left out the fact that revenue increased while creating the impression that it fell. I’ll let you speculate on the reasons."
</blockquote>
Mike digs deeper into the 2026 Treasury data, noting the deficit was 12 percent higher than in 2025. Meanwhile, the Trump administration blew through nearly $7.4 trillion in fiscal 2026. To put it into context, that's roughly $20.3 billion per day.
<blockquote>
"A 5.5 percent increase in spending might not sound significant. But weren't we told there would be spending cuts?"
</blockquote>
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Mike points out that this isn't just a Trump problem. Biden also promised spending cuts when he signed the debt ceiling deal. 
<blockquote>
"Despite some non-specific talk about 'spending cuts,' there seems to be little to no commitment to tackle runaway spending. In fact, the powers-that-be constantly find new reasons to spend money, whether it is a crisis at home or a war overseas."
</blockquote>
Mike points out that a lot of people seem unconcerned about deficits and the growing national debt; however, it matters. Ultimately, it undermines the dollar.
<blockquote>
"This could lead to slower economic growth, higher unemployment, and less investment wealth. A lack of confidence in the U.S. fiscal situation could also reduce demand for U.S. debt. This would force Treasury yields even higher to attract investors. We’re seeing that today with yields at levels not seen since 2001."
</blockquote>
Mike says the deficits are relevant to gold and silver investors because the rest of the world is paying attention and responding accordingly.
<blockquote>
"In fact, this is one of the factors driving the debasement trade. This is a fancy term for the investment strategy emphasizing holding tangible assets such as gold, silver, and other commodities to protect against the decline of fiat currencies caused by monetary debasement. In other words, a lot of countries, including China, are stacking gold because they have become wary of America’s fiscal malfeasance. You should be too."
</blockquote>
Mike wraps up the show with a call to action — call 800-800-1865 and talk to a Money Metals precious metals specialist today.
<h2>Articles Mentioned in the Show</h2>
<a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2026/10/04/debasement-trade-supporting-gold-even-as-yields-spike-005265">Debasement Trade Supporting Gold Even as Yields Spike</a>
<a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2024/11/11/presidents-and-debt-the-worst-of-the-worst-003602">Presidents and Debt: The Worst of the Worst</a>
<a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2026/10/15/beyond-the-cpi-the-complete-inflation-story-september-2026-005295">Beyond CPI: The Complete Inflation Story — September 2026</a>

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