Dick Cheney said deficits don't matter. Tell that to your 7% mortgage
- Dick Cheney's 2002 decree that deficits are irrelevant paved the road to our current fiscal hellscape.
- Post-9/11 spending sprees traded long-term solvency for short-term political gains.
- The chickens have come home to roost in the form of 7% mortgage rates.
- Washington's addiction to red ink continues to squeeze household budgets dry.
Brief Summary
Decades after Dick Cheney famously dismissed fiscal responsibility with the flippant claim that 'deficits don't matter,' the American economy is finally paying the piper. Following the 2002 midterms, the political establishment abandoned budget discipline in favor of unchecked national security spending and expansionary policy, setting a precedent that fiscal prudence was optional. This reckless pivot away from the surpluses of the late 90s ignited a debt cycle that has spiraled out of control, leaving the current administration to navigate a landscape of ballooning interest payments and inflationary pressure.
Why This Matters
You are feeling the lingering hangover of this bipartisan spending binge every single month. When the government piles on record-breaking debt, it forces the Federal Reserve to manipulate interest rates to keep the ship afloat, which directly translates into the brutal mortgage and loan rates you see today. Because the government is constantly competing for capital to pay off its mountainous interest obligations, there is less money to go around, making your cost of living soar and turning the dream of homeownership into a luxury that is rapidly slipping out of reach.