Negative interest rates?

 "If we adopted those in our central bank, not too many people would be very happy." 

Have you been hearing about this? It actually has been tried in the European Central Bank. And there is talk it could actually come to some different countries who are struggling with out of control debt. As many of us know that have some money in a savings account, the amount we receive in interest is just about zero. When you open your bank statement, you think, "this could not be worse." Well it can.

Negative interest rates. You might have heard about these from some folks on the radio. Or on some of the business news cable stations. If we adopted those rates in our central bank, not too many people would be very happy. Here is how it works. Banks are now offering (5)% interest. That means the bank is going to promise you if you deposit $100, you will get no less than $95 back at the end of the interest term. It is as simple as that. You are paying the bank for the honor of holding your money.

The fact this term is even being talked about should be a wake up call to us all. Our world economy is tanking right now, and countries who do not have their financial house in order (like from massive debt) are particularly susceptible. Yes, we are in deep, deep do-do with our national debt. And soon something is going to break. Donald Trump sees a massive recession coming. It might be that or worse. Or it might be what some are calling a bail-in - in other words, negative interest rates.

How in the world did we get in such a pickle? First off, we have been warned. Not once, but many times. Rather than fix our entitlement programs to not only keep them viable, and also not to have them wreck our economy, Obama has instead added yet another one. And if Bernie Sanders gets elected, he will add yet one more (free education). Our spending continues to outstrip our revenues. Sooner or later, our chickens will come home to roost.

Maybe we deserve negative interest rates. We elect the charlatan leaders who have led us down this path. It is as much our fault as anyone else. I am constantly reminded of the old adage, "we get the government we deserve". Well, we got it folks. And buckle up as the ride is only going to get rougher.