The document summarizes Dawn J. Bennett's article "The Problem with Great Expectations" which argues that President Trump faces significant economic challenges. Specifically, it outlines four "swamps" that could undermine the economy if not addressed: uncontrolled national debt, the hidden fiscal gap, short-term debt maturity, and potential double-digit inflation. It notes that experts have warned that the current economic situation could lead to a major stock market correction or dollar crisis that Trump may not be able to prevent.

1. “The Problem with
Great Expectations”
By Dawn J. Bennett

2. Dawn J. Bennett: Trump in Trouble?
• President Donald Trump has not inherited a strong
economy, despite assurances from the previous
administration. Money printing and economic stimulus
efforts aren’t helping.
• By pointing to stock market gains as immediate progress
and a rapid-fire execution of executive orders, Trump
hasn’t made his situation any better.
• The “financial elites” who ran the Federal Reserve and
economic policies under the Obama administration are
setting Trump up to fail.

3. “Drain the Swamp.”
• Trump has repeatedly voiced plans to “drain the
swamp” when it comes to Washington, D.C.
insiders.
• Such insiders include:
Former government officials who become
lobbyists
Business official appointed to government roles
Campaign donors who receive political favors

4. The Unseen “Swamps”
• Trump must address four more swamps if he
wants to thrive economically:
Uncontrolled national debt
Hidden fiscal gap
Short-term debt maturity
Double-digit inflation
• These four “swamps” were singled out for
current or expected negative impacts on the
U.S. economy.

5. National Debt and the Fiscal Gap
• The first swamp, debt, must be drained if the U.S.
expects to move forward with economic recovery
without adding to the existing $20 trillion bonded
debt.
• The second swamp, our hidden fiscal gap, equates
to a credit card bill that has yet to come due. Some
experts peg our obligations to between $50 and
$100 trillion.

6. Debt Maturity and Inflation
• According to estimates, 60 percent of the U.S.’s $20
trillion in public debt will come due and be payable
during Trump's first term. Printing money to cover
this cost will only weaken our economy.
• Trump’s plans for massive infrastructure and military
spending will likely boost inflation rates with it.
Double-digit inflation rivaling the crisis of the 197os
could result if inflation is handled inappropriately.

7. Backing up the Claims
• Economist James Dale Davidson believes that a 5o
percent collapse is coming. He predicted the crashes of
1999 and 2007.
• Mark Faber, publisher of “Gloom Boom Doom,”
believes that Trump could not prevent a dollar crisis or
a spike in the prices of gold and silver.
• Economist Andrew Smithers believes U.S. stocks are
about 80 percent overvalued.
• Ann Rutledge, of Forbes, believes that a slide began in
2013 and is presently under way.
• Peter Costa, president of Empire Executions, is pulling
his assets out of the market under the belief that a
“major correction” is not far off.

8. To Learn More
• Dawn J. Bennett is the founder and CEO of Bennett
Group Financial Services and host of Financial Myth
Busting.
• Read her complete article, “The Problem with Great
Expectations,” here.