Why Bessent Blinked | Luke Gromen on Doubling of Treasury Buyback Plan to Tame Long-End Yields

Why Bessent Blinked | Luke Gromen on Doubling of Treasury Buyback Plan to Tame Long-End Yields

From Monetary Matters with Jack Farley by Jack Farley

August 20, 2026 · 1h 28m

About this episode

Luke Gromen discusses the implications of the U.S. Treasury's increased buyback plan and its connection to the country's debt issues.

Sponsor: Teucrium Corn Fund (NYSE Arca: CORN): https://teucrium.com/corn Luke Gromen — founder of Forest for the Trees (FFTT) Research — returns to Monetary Matters the same week Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doubled the size of Treasury buybacks, and Luke argues it's the first real admission that the U.S. has what his firm calls an "emerging market hard currency debt spiral problem." The math that doesn't work: Luke breaks down why entitlements, interest, and veterans benefits now total 105% of federal receipts — and why that obligation is "hard currency" the government can't inflate away, growing 7.5% a year against receipts growing only 4%. The gold revaluation scenario: Step by step, Luke lays out how the Treasury could legally revalue U.S. gold reserves from $42/oz to $20,000/oz under existing Federal Reserve accounting rules, mechanically depositing roughly $5 trillion into the TGA — and stages it as the FDR "fireside chat" he'd give the country to explain it. Grading his own Iran war calls: Luke reviews the predictions he made when the U.S. attacked Iran — three out of four hit (the Treasury market breaking before Iran's economy did, Hormuz staying closed longer than…

People in this episode

Host: Jack Farley

Guest: Luke Gromen

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Sponsors

Teucrium Corn Fund

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Forest for the Trees (FFTT) Research, Federal Reserve

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