Biden Ally Sen. Carper Bets Big Against American Economy
In a surprising move last month, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), a long-standing associate and self-professed “dear friend” of Joe Biden, made a considerable financial wager against the U.S. economy. Public records indicate that Carper’s wife bought shares worth up to $95,000 in Ranger Equity Bear ETF and ProShares Short QQQ, funds that hedge against economic downturns. This bearish bet echoes a similar move from last year when the couple invested up to $110,000 in Ranger Equity Bear ETC.
Despite publicly praising Biden’s leadership and crediting him for a “resilient and growing” economy, Carper’s recent financial decisions tell a different story, one of skepticism and doubt. Even as job numbers remain promising, the enormous shadow of potential economic trouble looms. A noteworthy indication of this uncertainty came this week when Fitch, the global credit rating agency, downgraded the U.S. government’s credit rating for the first time since 1994.
The downgrade, which Fitch attributed to “fiscal deterioration” and “eroded confidence in fiscal management,” sent shockwaves through Wall Street, leading to a notable drop in stock prices.
Yet, Carper’s office has maintained a calm stance regarding the senator’s trades. His staff claims that their financial investments are managed independently by a financial adviser, thus suggesting an absence of personal involvement. But it raises the question: Does the Senator’s investment strategy signal a lack of confidence in the administration he publicly supports?
The context of Carper’s trading activities and his role in Congress only adds to the intrigue. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, his trading habits have drawn significant attention. The question posed by CongressTrading on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, about whether Carper is incentivized to pass laws harming the economy to boost his portfolio’s profitability is valid.
While Sen. Carper’s public statements praise the resilience and growth of the U.S. economy under President Biden’s administration, his private actions bet against this optimism. Such inconsistency, especially from a close ally of the president, raises important questions about the future direction of our nation’s economy.
Meanwhile, prominent hedge fund manager Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital also lacks faith in the U.S. economy. Ackman recently revealed he has shorted 30-year U.S. Treasury bills “in size,” expecting long-term interest rates on the government debt to rise. His reasoning hinges on an expected world of persistent inflation of at least 3%. He cited several factors, such as de-globalization, higher defense costs, the energy transition, growing entitlements, and increased bargaining power of workers, as likely contributors to long-term inflation.
Investors like Ackman and Carper are signaling concern over the nation’s $32 trillion debt burden and large deficits. This skepticism in U.S. economic stability, shared by prominent figures like U.S. senators and high-profile hedge fund managers, points to an uncertain future for the American economy.
