{"id":2611003,"date":"2026-06-05T09:05:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T13:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blame-government-overspending-for-americas-affordability-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T09:09:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T13:09:28","slug":"blame-government-overspending-for-americas-affordability-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blame-government-overspending-for-americas-affordability-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Blame Government Overspending For America&#8217;s Affordability Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fblame-government-overspending-for-americas-affordability-crisis%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2611003&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Poll data from Pew suggests Americans link the country\u2019s affordability problems to government deficits and inflation, with health care affordability and the federal budget deficit each viewed as \u201cvery big\u201d issues by large majorities of adults. While external shocks like the Iran-related oil and gas disruptions are acknowledged, the article argues that persistent U.S. deficit and debt levels can raise interest rates-driving up borrowing costs for mortgages, credit cards, and loans-and may also increase the cost of servicing the national debt.<\/p>\n<p>The piece also contends that government policies can worsen affordability directly, especially in health care. It claims that Obamacare-related subsidies may mask rising premium costs, which are attributed to regulations that increased premiums. it further argues that Obamacare\u2019s rules encourage insurer and health-care consolidation and pricing power by limiting insurer profit margins while leaving other areas less constrained, thereby increasing prices for families.<\/p>\n<p>the article claims conservatives have an prospect to make the case that controlling deficits and government spending-not expanding programs-would improve affordability for households and strengthen the nation\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bank-of-america-warns-of-looming-unemployment-shock\/\" title=\"Bank of America Warns of Looming Unemployment Shock\">long-term economic prospects<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Is government overspending the prime cause of Americans\u2019 affordability woes? Responses to one survey suggest a possible nexus between the two.<\/p>\n<p>Granted, the conflict with Iran and the temporary shortages it has created in oil and gas markets also play a role in the financial squeeze on Americans\u2019 wallets. But if, as the polling data indicates, the public takes our budget deficits more seriously than Congress does, it provides an opportunity to right our fiscal house in ways that could improve affordability for struggling families.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Survey: Deficits Matter to Americans<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A recent Pew Research Center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2026\/05\/11\/americans-see-health-care-costs-deficit-inflation-as-big-problems-facing-the-nation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>, based on a survey taken in late April, revealed some interesting findings:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>73% of adults now say the affordability of health care is a very big problem for the country, up 6 percentage points from\u00a0February of last year. 64% view the federal budget deficit as a very big problem, up 7 points from last February. Inflation also continues to loom large for the public: 66% say inflation is a very big problem, up modestly from 63% last year.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The deficit numbers seem shocking. Washington continues to run <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/12\/we-could-completely-get-rid-of-social-security-and-it-still-wouldnt-balance-the-u-s-budget\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">deficits approaching $2 trillion per year<\/a>, and lawmakers haven\u2019t truly focused on controlling deficits and debt in decades \u2014 yet nearly as many voters thought the federal budget deficit a major problem as did inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, however, partisanship appears to play a role in these numbers. The percentage of Democrats viewing the deficit as a big problem nearly doubled, from 35 percent in April 2024 (i.e., during the Biden presidency) to 66 percent this April. Similarly, the ratio of Republicans considering inflation a major issue dropped by 25 percentage points, from 80 percent in the April 2024 survey to only 55 percent this April.<\/p>\n<p>Given Democrats\u2019 sudden interest in controlling the deficit as soon as President Trump took office, a cynic could wonder whether they will still object when provisions of <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.juniperresearchgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BBB-Summary.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">last year\u2019s reconciliation bill<\/a> that will slow the growth of Medicaid spending begin to take effect this year and next. For that matter, if they object to Congress\u2019s extension of tax relief, they could always decline those rate reductions and choose to pay higher taxes instead.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How Government Affects Affordability<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Regardless, the polling results give conservatives an opportunity to emphasize the linkages among federal deficits, inflation, and affordability. First, as I recently <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/12\/how-our-national-debt-jeopardizes-families-futures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a>, persistently high deficit and debt levels tend to push up interest rates, making mortgages, credit cards, and loans more expensive for families and businesses alike. Indeed, bond rates and the mortgages linked to them have <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Business\/rising-bond-yields-mortgages-credit-card-rates\/story?id=133145570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recently risen<\/a>, which will place a further squeeze on households struggling to buy their first home. (It could also raise the cost of servicing the national debt by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crfb.org\/blogs\/rising-interest-rates-are-exploding-debt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">another $2 trillion<\/a> compared to Congressional Budget Office projections.)<\/p>\n<p>Second, government spending doesn\u2019t just raise federal deficits but actually harms affordability for things like health care. The enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which expired as of Jan. 1, provided taxpayer-funded subsidies to \u201clow-income\u201d families making <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/03\/02\/how-democrats-covid-bill-gives-welfare-to-the-wealthy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hundreds of thousands of dollars per year<\/a>. Like morphine to a cancer patient, these subsidies did not bend the cost curve down but instead <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >masked underlying premium costs \u2014 premiums<\/a> that regulations imposed by Obamacare had <a href=\"https:\/\/aspe.hhs.gov\/system\/files\/pdf\/256751\/IndividualMarketPremiumChanges.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">caused to skyrocket<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Other government policies also make health care less affordable. As none other than Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.warren.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/2023.11.21%20Letter%20to%20HHS%20OIG%20regarding%20MLR%20evasion.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">observed<\/a>, Obamacare encouraged insurers to buy up physician practices and pharmaceutical benefit managers because profits on insurers are capped by Obamacare\u2019s medical loss ratio regulation, but profits on other health care businesses are not. As a result, Democrats\u2019 own law has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/12\/01\/like-trump-elizabeth-warren-believes-obamacare-sucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">encouraged consolidation<\/a> among major health care conglomerates, driving up prices and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/granholm-grants-interview-to-dem-megadonor-donald-sussmans-daughter\/\" title=\"Granholm Grants Interview to Dem Megadonor Donald Sussman\u2019s Daughter\">making health care<\/a> less affordable for families.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>An Opening for Conservatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Pew survey results suggest that conservatives can and should make the case for why deficits matter and how controlling government spending can help not just Washington\u2019s affordability crisis but the crisis facing families across our nation. Democrats will spend the midterm election campaign trying to equate \u201caffordability\u201d with more government spending programs. Conservatives should make the contrasting case and explain how Washington continuing to spend money it doesn\u2019t have will only make our entire nation poorer in the end.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>      Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group and author of the book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1645720020\">The Case Against Single Payer<\/a>.&#8221; He is on Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisjacobsHC\">@chrisjacobsHC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can overspending by the government be the main cause of Americans\u2019 unaffordability crisis?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2611004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/United-States-Flag-and-Dollar-Bills.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[65623,80870,43700,32412,38835],"class_list":["post-2611003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-affordability-crisis","tag-budget-deficits","tag-fiscal-responsibility","tag-government-spending","tag-public-policy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/United-States-Flag-and-Dollar-Bills.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2611003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2611003"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2611003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2611007,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2611003\/revisions\/2611007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2611004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2611003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2611003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2611003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}