glad to see the revenue being recorded

FAFO. This was inevitable given the tariffs, and just one of the mechanisms by which tariffs can increase interest rates.

  [0]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45312671  
  [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45294981

> "At this time, it appears that meaningful tariff revenue has the potential to offset the deficit-raising aspects of the recent budget legislation."

Assuming this is true, which it may not be given that the deficit (not debt…) continues to rise despite the tariff revenues, it basically points to the fact that the US is cutting taxes on the richest and funding it with a federal sales tax on all.

I’m surprised they didn’t lower it given the attempts to politicize the fed and the firing of the BLS chief. Also this is quite a short term outlook. Tariffs are likely to cause a stagflationary scenario which could lower government revenue in the long term.

US government debt ratings by US rating agencies are now a bit of a joke. We saw what happened when a minor comedian made a joke adjacent to Charlie Kirk - that joke was, at worst, bad taste, in the context of the tragic and unjustifiable murder. Trump personally tried to destroy that guy.

What happens to rating agencies that dare cut US ratings? Surely nothing good. So they will keep saying things are good - either because they are, or because they aren't, but they cannot say.

But then of course ratings, especially of sovereign debt, are kind of meaningless anyway. The ratings agencies don't have any extra information or deeper analysis available. They know as much as a basic investor, but have no upside in being smarter. The ratings revisions are always reactive, and only really matter because plenty of investors have to avoid bonds below a certain grade.

So it's a demeaning of a meaningless number perhaps.