BlackRocks’s CEO Larry Fink told a Forbes conference in New York that President Trump’s proposed tax cuts and the rising U.S. federal debt posed a grave threat to the economy, and that “we’re going to hit the wall” if things don’t change. Financial Times reported fulsomely on Fink’s warning: “‘We have a pending tax bill that’s going to add $2.3 trillion, $2.4 trillion on the back of that,’ Fink said, pointing to the $36 trillion in existing U.S. federal debt. ‘If we don’t find a way to grow at 3% a year … we’re going to hit the wall.… If we cannot unlock the growth and if we’re going to continue to stumble along at a 2% economy, the deficits are going to overwhelm this country,’” he said.
Fink also warned that the deficit is driving Treasury rates up. “‘Importantly, 25% of the U.S. Treasury market is owned by foreigners,’ Fink said. ‘That’s not a good situation when we are now battling many countries related to tariffs. And so you’re starting to begin to see a weakening in the dollar.’”
