Video News/In Focus with Jeremy Szafron

Dr. Mark Thornton, Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute, says record equity valuations are masking deep strain in the real economy. Speaking with Kitco News anchor Jeremy Szafron, Thornton described the U.S. as a “two economies” system, where financial markets continue to hit records while consumers face rising costs, debt pressure, and late-cycle warning signs. Thornton warned that the stock market has rarely been this overvalued in the past 150 years and said the Federal Reserve is constrained by U.S. debt levels above 100% of GDP. He called the Kevin Warsh nomination the “biggest hit job” on precious metals and argued that a Volcker-style rate shock is no longer politically or fiscally realistic. Thornton also discussed the SILVER Act, energy-driven inflation, the Cantillon Effect, and why gold and silver remain tied to broader questions of monetary freedom.