America's Debt Problem Is Already Hurting You

When debt matters—and who pays

Speaker 1: 00:00

When does the debt matter? My answer is it has been mattering. It's not the moment a bond auction failed or something crazy, because that's not the point here. The point is that when you have these really structural fiscal deficits, there are recipients on some sides of them, and then there are others that are “not on recipients,” but they're paying the cost.

For example, higher rates and a new family looking to buy their first home—they're indirectly paying the cost, or some of the costs, for these deficits. That's where you get, for example, record-high stock prices and record-low consumer sentiment.