The United States is moving toward a possible catastrophic fiscal collapse. The country may not get there, but the risk is unmistakable and growing. The 'fiscal language' of taxes, spending, and deficits has played a huge and under appreciated role in the decisions that have pushed the nation in this dangerous direction. Part of the problem is that by focusing only on the current year, deficits permit politicians to ignore what is looming down the road. The bigger problem lies in the belief, shared by people on the left and the right alike, that 'tax cuts' and 'spending cuts' lead to smaller government, when in fact the characterization of any new policy as a change in 'taxes' or in 'spending' is purely a matter of labeling. This book proposes a better fiscal language for US budgetary policy, rooted in economic fundamentals such as wealth distribution and resource allocation in lieu of 'taxes' and 'spending'.
Industry Reviews
The words fiscal policy normally provoke only yawns from educated readers. But any indifference to the ticking time bombs that threaten the financial soundness of the modern social welfare state should be rudely interrupted by Daniel Shaviro's lucid and disturbing account of our long-term problem. With devastating accuracy he exposes the financial timidity and accounting double-talk that infects members of both political parties and makes a reasoned plea for corrective action - before it is too late. -- Richard Epstein, University of Chicago Daniel Shaviro has performed an important public service by showing how our thinking about the federal budget has not kept pace with advances in economic analysis. Although we are now in the age of the Internet, we are still using horse-and-buggy budgetary terms and presentations. The result is that both policymakers and the public are misinformed and ill-informed about the looming fiscal crisis when the baby boomers retire. When that day comes, it is essential that everyone has a better understanding of the nature of the budgetary problem and options for dealing with it. "Taxes, Spending, and the U.S. Government's March Toward Bankruptcy" is a big step in providing that understanding. --Bruce Bartlett, Nationally syndicated columnist