September 13, 2021
Submitted by Total Clarity Wealth Management, Inc. on September 15th, 2021
POLICY RISKS LOOM BUT CLARITY AHEAD
Barry Gilbert, PhD, CFA, Asset Allocation Strategist, LPL Financial
Lawrence Gillum, CFA, Fixed Income Strategist, LPL Financial
Jeff Buchbinder, CFA, Equity Strategist, LPL Financial
Several policy-related risks loom in September and October that may lead to an increase in market volatility. The debt ceiling needs to be raised (likely by mid-October), the government needs to be funded to avoid a shutdown by the end of September, and the Democrats are trying to pass two major spending bills and will need to provide greater clarity on tax increases over the next several weeks. We believe the greatest risks come from the debt ceiling and taxes, but expect neither to have much near-term impact on the general trajectory of the bull market.
There’s always something going on in Washington, but with summer behind us, policy debates are heating up with an unusual number of high-profile policy issues looming for Congress and President Joe Biden in September and October. Those include the debt ceiling; the fate of the bipartisan infrastructure bill; clarity and potential progress on the much larger American Families Plan (AFP) spending package emphasizing Democratic priorities (also known as the human infrastructure bill); and, not to be forgotten, simply funding the government. These very well could be the peak policy months of President Biden’s first term, akin to the months leading up to the passage of the Affordable Care Act under President Barack Obama and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act under President Donald Trump. This week we break down what market participants should be watching, possible sources of risk, and our expectations.
LOOMING DEADLINES FORCING THE ACTION
September and October aren’t important policy months simply because there’s a lot going on—looming deadlines are forcing the action. Keep in mind that Congress is notorious for not acting until the last possible moment and even pushing back deadlines whenever it can, as different members of Congress try to squeeze one more concession out of negotiations. This will create a lot of noise and increased uncertainty, but is unfortunately the norm for how Congress operates. While every maneuver may be of genuine political interest, as an investor, it’s important not to get too caught up in Congressional drama. Here’s a quick overview of where we are right now and what may be coming next:
- Bipartisan infrastructure bill – The bill, which includes about $550 billion in new spending over the next eight years and $1.2 trillion in total spending, was passed by the Senate on August 10. Since then, Democratic House leadership has been holding out on a vote, using the delay for political leverage to pull moderates on board for the larger spending package. On August 24, in exchange for voting in favor of the budget resolution needed for the AFP to progress, moderate Democrats were given a non-binding promise on infrastructure reaching the House floor for vote by September 27.
- American Families Plan – The August 24 budget resolution was needed for Democrats to pass a large spending package under the reconciliation process, which requires only a simple majority to pass in the Senate. The budget resolution set a soft target of the bill moving out of committee by September 15. To date, Democrats have remained vague on how the bill will be paid for, but the House Ways and Means Committee will need to provide a concrete proposal by September 15, assuming the timeline holds up. In other words, by September 15 we’ll start getting clarity on who is getting taxed and how much. That’s when things start to get interesting.
- Funding the government – A partial government shutdown takes place on October 1 unless a continuing resolution is passed to fund the government. That resolution would fund the government only for a limited specified time, at which point we do it all again. Often, the continuing resolution is made part of another bill that is hard to vote against, or it could get passed as part of the AFP using the reconciliation process.
- The debt ceiling – At some point, if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling the government would technically default on its current obligations. We don’t know exactly when that point will be, but it will likely come in mid-October. The government has been using extraordinary measures since early August to conserve cash so it can meet its obligations for as long as possible.
With deadlines forcing the action, what will market participants be watching? Primarily the debt ceiling and taxes. The two present contrasting risk profiles. Congress is extremely unlikely to let the U.S. default on its debt since it would likely have significant negative consequences for markets and the economy. On the other hand, Congress is very likely to raise taxes, driven by (slim) Democratic majorities in both chambers. But, based on history the immediate market impact is likely to be negligible, with the biggest risk around the hit to corporate earnings due to a higher corporate tax rate. On the other hand, taxes help contain deficits—it’s how you pay for what you spend, and for deficit hawks it’s preferable to borrowing. Best to spend wisely and tax lightly, but no president since 1960 has been able to achieve that except Bill Clinton. In the absence of that approach, paying for at last some of what you spend may be preferable to pushing the national debt even higher.
DEBT CEILING
The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of debt that the Treasury Department can issue. The Treasury uses the money it borrows to pay its obligations. The amount is set through Congress and has been regularly increased as needed over the years. The consequences of not raising the debt ceiling are far from trivial. Not only would the U.S. government not be able to cover its expenses, it would also default on its debt—which could send shockwaves throughout the financial system.
Through a bipartisan budget act in 2019, Congress suspended the debt ceiling through July 31, 2021, which allowed the government unfettered access to capital markets. As seen on the chart, when the suspension was enacted, total debt outstanding was $22 trillion—but current debt levels have risen to $28.4 trillion, which is the new debt ceiling level [Figure 1]. The debt ceiling will need to be raised soon or the U.S. Treasury will likely run out of its “extraordinary measures” to fund government activities. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently said this would likely occur in October.
