Video News/In Focus with Jeremy Szafron

Economist E.J. Antoni says the American consumer is “tapped out” as record debt, dwindling savings, and soaring costs collide. Speaking with Kitco News, Antoni warned that the Federal Reserve is trapped between a credit crisis and runaway inflation. “They are tapped out,” he said, calling government overspending the “original sin” forcing the Fed’s hand. He argues that nine out of ten Americans have already burned through their savings, leaving the economy dangerously exposed. Antoni, a former nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, called the official jobs data a “scandal,” saying the BLS has used flawed models since 2022 to disguise weakness. He believes monetary tightening, record deficits, and fiscal excess are converging into a systemic reckoning. Antoni says the outcome will either break credit markets or unleash inflationary chaos—and both paths lead to pain for consumers.