Sep 22, 2026 · 21 min
War, tax cuts and bailouts reshaped America’s political anger
How The War on Terror and Obama’s Bailout is Still Costing America
The episode connects fiscal choices and financial rescue policies to the distrust that helped create an opening for Trump’s populism.
- 1Post-9/11 wars and tax cuts replaced Clinton-era fiscal discipline with persistent deficits.
- 2Deregulation and subprime lending made the housing system vulnerable before its collapse became a multitrillion-dollar crisis.
- 3Bank bailouts stabilized finance while widespread home losses deepened public distrust of Washington.
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The hosts describe how bailouts and Federal Reserve asset purchases stabilized finance while many Americans lost their homes.
The brief
Katty Kay and Anthony Scaramucci frame the episode around broken promises: policies that widened economic insecurity also weakened trust in government.
They begin with Clinton-era surplus and PAYGO, then argue that the post-9/11 turn toward war and tax cuts made deficits politically untouchable.
The hosts connect war spending, deregulation and subprime lending to a housing system increasingly exposed to leverage and higher interest costs.
When housing collapsed, bank bailouts and Federal Reserve purchases of toxic assets and Treasuries protected the financial system as many Americans lost homes.
Their larger argument is that these choices did more than strain the budget: they created the distrust and anger that fueled Trump’s populist appeal.
Featuring
Anthony Scaramucci
Donald John Trump
Congressional Budget Office
All the Wrong MovesBooks & mentions
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