This writer opined in this space on Wednesday that, due to certain technical and political indicators, this would be an opportune time for hard money advocates to open or add to their holdings of precious metals. That same day, the U.S. Treasury issued its own fundamental “buy” signal. In its monthly statement of receipts and outlays of the U.S. government, it noted that although receipts jumped more than seven percent in October, year-over-year, government spending rose a breathtaking 18 percent compared to October a year ago.

Buried in the various charts and graphs was this note: the U.S. Treasury paid out $32 billion in interest payments to holders of the government’s $20+ trillion national debt. If nothing changes, that means Treasury will have paid out $384 billion in interest by next October, up from the $263 billion in interest it paid in the last fiscal year. That’s a 46 percent jump, and of course assumes that nothing changes between now and then.