The Peter McCormack Show – Episode #163
Scott Horton – How Debt, Inflation and War Are All Connected
Recorded: April 7, 2026 | Host: Peter McCormack | Guest: Scott Horton
Episode Overview
This episode dives deep into the connections between government debt, monetary inflation, perpetual war, and the forces that keep this cycle going. Antiwar radio host, author, and libertarian commentator Scott Horton joins Peter McCormack to pull back the curtain on how debt-fueled military interventions devastate economies, empower special interests, and perpetuate global conflicts. The conversation weaves through U.S. foreign policy, the media’s role, the revolving door of war profiteering, and the psychological conditioning that sustains the status quo.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Perpetual War and Economic Drain
- War as Social Control: Horton draws an explicit comparison to 1984, arguing that perpetual war serves to extract surplus wealth from the population and stabilize elite control.
- Quote: “By keeping the people in a state of perpetual war, we take all their excess wealth...so that the people are always desperate and always easy to keep under control.” (Scott Horton, 00:16)
- Debt and Interest Surpassing Defense: The U.S. government spends more annually on interest payments than on the active costs of its military empire, creating a feedback loop of borrowing and war preparation.
- Quote: “Interest on the national debt is now a larger percentage of the annual national government’s budget than even the world empire, the Iron Triangle.” (Scott Horton, 00:54)
2. The Hidden War Tax: Inflation & Working Class Struggle
- Inflation as a "Hidden Tax": The burden of war and deficit spending is shifted onto ordinary people through monetary inflation, eroding wages and increasing costs of living.
- Quote: “Of course the cost of living is up because of monetary inflation and therefore massive price inflation that has just destroyed... the quality of life for people.” (Scott Horton, 03:52)
- Wages Lag Behind: Especially for lower-income workers, wage growth lags far behind inflation.
- Blaming the Victims: Mainstream narratives wrongfully blame workers demanding higher wages for causing inflation.
- Quote: “It’s backwards and wrong and blaming the victims for the problem.” (Scott Horton, 05:12)
3. Wars of Choice and Political Capture
- "America's Interests" vs. Special Interests: Horton argues that U.S. foreign interventions are often rationalized as serving national interest but are usually driven by the interests of foreign lobbies, particularly the Israel lobby, and domestic war profiteers.
- Quote: “We all know the answer is in Tel Aviv, it’s Zionism. And Trump is bought and sold and paid for and check cashed and they own his ass and therefore America. That’s the answer.” (Scott Horton, 10:07)
- Policy Illiteracy Among "Leaders": Examples abound where high-level officials can’t explain basic facts about Middle East conflicts, exposing how profoundly unserious policymaking is.
- Notable Moment: Horton recounts a story where top U.S. intelligence and congressional figures cannot distinguish between Al Qaeda and Hezbollah. (12:00–14:45)
4. The Revolving Door & Iron Triangle
- Revolving Door: Politicians and bureaucrats cycle into lucrative defense industry jobs after public service, with think tanks, media, and arms manufacturers forming an "iron triangle" to perpetuate war spending.
- Quote: “Richard Cummings... dismisses the revolving door. He calls it the iron triangle. Arms manufacturers, Congress, and the media... all hype it up,” (Scott Horton, 27:10)
- Ukraine as a Military Hardware Garage Sale: Modern wars are partly justified as a means to use up old military hardware and justify new production cycles.
- Quote: “Ukraine is essentially a garage sale of old military hardware? ...That’s part of it.” (Scott Horton, 33:33–33:43)
5. Media Propaganda and Manufactured Consensus
- Media’s Incentives: The so-called "mainstream" or "corporate" media are financially incentivized to heighten war scares for ratings and ad revenue.
- Quote: “They gotta sell their dish soap. And the more eyeballs on the TV, the better... They absolutely do increase their ad rates...when there’s a big controversy.” (Scott Horton, 40:19–41:00)
- Narrative Uniformity: Cable news enforces narrow pro-war, pro-interventionist narratives often based on Zionist or establishment talking points.
- Demonizing Dissent: Critics of U.S. and Israeli policies are reflexively smeared as "antisemitic", a tactic engrained via education and media.
6. Psychological and Social Barriers to Change
- Weaponized Accusations: Accusations of antisemitism are used to shut down policy debate, but Horton emphasizes that many accusers sincerely believe criticism of Israel equals bigotry due to lifelong conditioning.
- Quote: “People really internalize that lie. And then they hear you criticize Israel and they go, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe how much that guy hates Jews.’” (Scott Horton, 51:10)
- Tribalistic Misunderstanding: Modern discourse (online and off) is dominated by tribalism, where good faith disagreement is rare and all dissent is seen as hostile.
- Notable Moment: Horton jokes about being labeled a right-wing fascist in the UK simply for advocating for smaller government or sound money. (61:41–61:58)
7. Is There Hope? Pathways to Change
- Growing Dissent: Despite the entrenched interests, voices of dissent—online and within popular media—are multiplying.
- Quote: "Twitter and YouTube are absolutely full to the eyeballs with great anti war people making incredible anti war points all day long." (Scott Horton, 62:35)
- Integrity in Advocacy: Horton sees optimism in his own diminishing uniqueness—more people can make the case against war, and the public's skepticism is growing.
- Direct Action: Ultimately, real change means a mass public refusal to support wars of choice and to reject manipulative narratives.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)
-
On perpetual war as wealth destruction:
“We take all of their excess wealth and we put it in the form of a floating fortress and sink it...so that the people are always desperate and always easy to keep under control.” (Scott Horton, 00:16) -
On borrowing to pay the interest on war debts:
“As Senator Rand Paul said...we’re borrowing money to pay interest on the debt. We are.” (Scott Horton, 00:39) -
On blaming workers for inflation:
“It’s the wages that go last. And then what happens if you watch TV? They go, ‘Yeah, all this upward pressure on wages is causing inflation...’ which is getting it completely backwards and wrong and blaming the victims for the problem.” (Scott Horton, 05:00) -
On U.S. foreign policy being "owned":
“Trump is bought and sold and paid for and check cashed and they own his ass and therefore America. That’s the answer.” (Scott Horton, 10:07) -
On the Iron Triangle:
“The iron triangle...arms manufacturers, Congress and the media and all they do is hype it all up...to get what they want.” (Scott Horton, 27:10) -
On Ukraine as a war for inventory:
“Somebody has to empty these bomb inventories and refill them again one way or the other.” (Scott Horton, 32:34) -
On media’s profit motive:
“The more eyeballs on the TV, the better. And when there’s a big controversy, that’s when they’re making money.” (Scott Horton, 41:00) -
On accusations of antisemitism:
“People really internalize that lie...they hear you criticize Israel and they go, ‘Oh my God...I’m living, like, in a Nazi society where people are so antisemitic...’” (Scott Horton, 52:30) -
Moments of optimism:
“It was a much worse world when my voice was much more unique...So many people are doing such a great job in opposing this thing...” (Scott Horton, 62:35–64:06)
Important Segment Timestamps
- 00:00–02:30: The perpetual war state, inflation, and government's priorities
- 10:04–24:22: U.S.–Israel policy, media ignorance, and neoconservative adventures
- 26:09–31:53: The Iron Triangle/revolving door and its role in perpetuating war
- 33:33–33:55: Ukraine as a military-industrial “garage sale”
- 37:37–44:23: Corporate media’s role in war, propaganda, and consensus creation
- 44:23–53:37: Horton’s emotional response to the system and its psychological impacts
- 62:35–65:07: Signs of hope, antiwar movement growth
- 65:45–End: Advice for skeptics of U.S. global dominance narratives
Advice to Listeners Skeptical About War
- On leaving mistakes behind and de-escalation:
“It shouldn't have started this war, man, and we can't go back, but we can just quit now...You don't have the right to kill anybody. How about we start with that? How about stop killing people right now?...The thing is to just quit.” (Scott Horton, 65:45–72:28)
Final Thoughts
Scott Horton’s passionate analysis ties together the insidious links between debt, inflation, and endless war—driven by special interests, enabled by the media, and sustained by public misunderstanding and fear. Yet, signs of hope persist in the growing public awareness, decentralized media, and the resilience of those who refuse to accept war as inevitable.
Resources, Links, and Further Reading:
- antiwar.com
- Scott Horton Academy of Foreign Policy and Freedom
- thefactsaboutiran.com