Billionaire hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller is warning that excessive government spending will stifle key technological innovations that could supercharge productivity in the US.
In a new CNBC interview, Druckenmiller says that the government is spending money like we’re back in the Great Depression.
According to the billionaire, the government’s demand for more debt to fund its undue spending will eventually lead to higher interest rates, making it more expensive for private firms innovating in tech fields such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) to access fresh capital.
“I’ve studied the Great Depression, and you had a private sector crippled with debt with basically no new ideas, so interventionist policies were called for and were effective.
The private sector could not be more different today than it was in the Great Depression. Their balance sheets are fine. They’re healthy. And have you ever seen more innovative ideas that the private sector could take advantage of now? You’ve got blockchain, you got AI, you got the whole thing.
All the government needed to do was get out of their way and let them innovate. Instead, they’ve spent, spent and spent. My new fear now is that spending and the resulting interest rates on the debt that’s been created are going to crowd out some of the innovation that would have taken place.
We have a 7% budget deficit at full employment. It’s unheard of.”
Druckenmiller says that blockchain, AI and other technological advancements could ignite a productivity boom in the country but laments that government spending is getting in the way of progress.
“I think we’re looking at one of the most exciting periods in terms of potential productivity-enhancing investments ever, and why we’re spending like we’re still in the Great Depression is beyond me.”
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