The bond selloff is a liquidity distortion, not a verdict on U.S. fiscal health — thin August trading and a wave of corporate issuance skewed the long end, and Treasury's buyback expansion correctly targeted that mispricing. Bessent signaled credibly that Washington has tools and willingness to act, which is exactly what markets needed to hear. With fiscal consolidation coming and tariff revenues stabilizing, the deficit trajectory is far better than the panic-driven yield spike suggested.