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Discussion (12 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews
Government debt yields on the short end are set by the Fed. Long yields are "set by the market" based on inflation fears, and mostly guessing what the Fed will set rates to over the next 10+ years.
Japan had way higher Debt-to-GDP for decades, yet the long term yields were low. Why? The central bank said "we anticipate yields to be set low for a long time" and did so for a long time. Recently they said they are going to "respond to inflation" like all other central banks and suprise, surprise the long end is creeping up. "Bond vigilantes" came into existence as soon as the central bank changed their policy.
The yield increase is basically the market pricing in the interest rate increases since they're expected now.
(edit: I guess a lot of people still aren't ready to hear it)
It's because the country went through the great recession and was attempting to pull out and avoid financial collapse.
Look at Revenue per year as a % of GDP and look at Expenses per year as a % of GDP. It's pretty clear.
Expenses went up avoiding a depression which was done successfully, and revenue dropped due to the falling economy. The president was handed a collapsing economy and saved it.
The issue is the other party that keeps getting handed great economies since the late 90s and fails to do anything but make the problem worse.
Debt per GDP/size of US economy is more useful. Debt/GDP has the 2008 jump as the Obama Admin tried to (but not nearly enough) stimulate out of the housing crisis. Debt/GDP looks flat until 2020.
2008 and 2020 jumps make sense in the setting the 2008 crisis and COVID which was effectively a recession assuming you believe in Keynesian economics.
Paying for US debt if you are the US is cheap when interest rates low. Trump/Bessent/Elon have been doing everything they can to drive up inflation, so now interest rates are necessarily going higher...
Remember that 2008 was still Bush, Obama didn't become president until 2009.