Americans are beginning to feel the consequences of decades of government borrowing at an especially difficult moment. An energy shock from the Iran war is helping push inflation higher just as the country's enormous debt load is making high interest rates increasingly painful.
The result is a squeeze that extends from Washington's budget to mortgages, businesses and household finances. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note topped 5% on Monday, about a full percentage point higher than at the end of February and close to levels not seen since 2007.
