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I’ve never, ever been a big fan of debt. From living mortgage free to my refusal to take out loans if at all possible (though I have for some things when necessity dictated, such as my education). I’m a fiscal conservative at heart, and it really racks my brain to see how tolerant people are of borrowing, both at the consumer level and in the government as well. The U.S. government has run the country into more debt than ever before, and eventually it’s all going to have to be paid back. Not now, certainly, but future generations. We’re taking out a mortgage on our own future, and no one’s going to be pleased when it’s time to pay the piper. A recent article at Yahoo! Finance echoed these thoughts:

“Although interest rates remain historically low, Brusuelas says deficits definitely do matter from an economic perspective. The U.S. current account and fiscal deficits (a.k.a. the twin deficits) have directly resulted in “reduced purchasing power of the U.S. dollar” since 2002, meaning “higher inflation and a reduced standard of living for all Americans,” he says.”

Of course take that with a grain of salt, given that it’s only one economist, but lets just stick to the facts. The current account deficit is up 426% in the past 10 years. The dollar has taken a serious plunge in value, inflating commodities that are pegged to the dollar like oil. This in turn has cause pain at the pump for Americans across the country as more of their discretionary income gets devoured by things like gas and food. Directly deficit related or not, it’d be hard to make a case that it’s had no effect at all. It also doesn’t prove that we the country can possibly continue running a deficit without severe consequences of the future.