Ron Paul: The economic boom under Trump is 'an illusion' that will come crashing down

Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), father of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), isn’t high on the economy like most Americans. In fact, he believes it’s all "an illusion."

What did he say?

In a recent interview with the Washington Examiner, Paul said the economic boom under President Donald Trump "an illusion” because it’s based "all on borrowed money."

"It’s a bubble economy in many many different ways and it’s going to come unglued,” Paul said. "We’re on the verge of something like what happened in '89 when the Soviet system just collapsed. I’m just hoping our system comes apart as gracefully as the Soviet system."

Though he likened the American economy to the latter economy of the USSR, Paul said he doesn’t believe the U.S. will break into many different states like what happened to Soviet Russia.

Does Paul have a point?

Indeed, the economy has boomed during Trump's first year in the White House.

The stock market has soared since Inauguration Day, reaching several new records. Unemployment is at 4.1 percent — a 17-year low — and the housing market has regained what it lost during the financial crisis in 2008 and then some.

But America’s deficit and debt problems continue to grow. The national debt has skyrocketed past $20 trillion and the budget shortfall for fiscal year 2018 is estimated to be $440 billion.