Restoring America's Fiscal Constitution

Restoring America's Fiscal Constitution

Author: John Merrifield

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2017-09-28

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 1498553540

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Restoring America’s Fiscal Constitution estimates the potential impact of new fiscal rules on the U.S. economy over the next two decades. The new rules would require a cyclically balanced budget and an expenditure limit. The study shows that over the forecast period, the budget could be balanced and the total debt-to-GDP ratio reduced to the 60 percent tolerance level under this scheme, but this fiscal consolidation can only be achieved using a combination of fiscal reforms that go far beyond what has been proposed by Congress and the President. The first chapter explores the theoretical foundations of a fiscal constitution. The orthodox public finance view of public debt is contrasted with a public choice perspective. This is followed by chapters surveying the new fiscal rules enacted in other countries to address debt issues. Several chapters provide a historical perspective on U.S. debt, including a critical appraisal of our fiscal rules. New laws are proposed to address the debt crisis, and a dynamic simulation model is used to estimate the impact of the proposed laws on the U.S. economy. The final section provides a roadmap for enacting the proposed constitutional and statutory fiscal rules.


Comeback America

Comeback America

Author: David M. Walker

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2010-01-12

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1588369765

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He's one of America's most capable, canny, candid, and independent financial experts. Now David M. Walker sounds a call to action. Comeback America is a tough-minded, innovative, inspiring guide to help us avoid the approaching economic abyss and put the country back on track again. As comptroller general of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—"the nation's top auditor"—Walker warned Congress and the administration as the federal surplus became a giant deficit under George W. Bush. As president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, he now works full-time to raise public awareness regarding mounting debt burdens being imposed on future generations. Comeback America is his crucial manifesto, a way for President Obama to end out-of-control government spending and reform our tax, retirement, health care, defense, and other systems—before it's too late. Walker believes that by 2030, absent significant reforms to current government programs and policies, federal taxes could double from current levels, meaning less money and poorer education for kids—which will hurt families along with our nation's economic strength and position in the world. If our foreign creditors—such as China—decide to buy fewer of our Treasury bonds, interest rates will rise and cars and homes will become less affordable. But it doesn't have to be that way. Comeback America shows how we can return to our founding principles of fiscal responsibility and stewardship for future generations. The book includes bold ideas to control spending, save Social Security, dramatically alter Medicare, and simplify the tax code—all taking into account the Obama Administration's current efforts, which receive never-before-published assessments both complimentary and critical. Nonpartisan, nonideological, and filled with a love of the country its esteemed author has spent his life serving, Comeback America is a book for anyone interested in America's economic future—in other words, a book everyone should read.


Founding Choices

Founding Choices

Author: Douglas A. Irwin

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2011-01-15

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 0226384756

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Papers of the National Bureau of Economic Research conference held at Dartmouth College on May 8-9, 2009.


Fix It Now

Fix It Now

Author: Chip Maxwell

Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub

Published: 2012-04-14

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 9781475183221

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A reader-friendly explanation of the need to restore limited government and other American founding values.


Restoring Sustainable Macroeconomic Policies in the United States

Restoring Sustainable Macroeconomic Policies in the United States

Author: Barry Warren Poulson

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 1666916617

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By looking at the macroeconomic frameworks and experiences of countries such as Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland, Restoring Sustainable Macroeconomic Policies in the U.S. presents a way for the United States to normalize fiscal and monetary policy in order to achieve sustainable debt in the post-COVID-19 era.


A Fiscal Cliff

A Fiscal Cliff

Author: John Merrifield

Publisher: Cato Institute

Published: 2020-10-20

Total Pages: 590

ISBN-13: 1948647893

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"'A Fiscal Cliff' is precisely the right book for perilous fiscal times. Giants in economics and public policy offer a spirited defense of fiscal rules critically needed to protect our children and grandchildren from a bleak future." -Richard K. Vedder, Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus, Ohio University/p> The unsustainable, and still rapidly growing, U.S. federal government debt is a classic case of ‘'in denial.” Indeed, we are no closer to a solution to the debt crisis than we were ten years ago when the Simpson-Bowles Commission issued a report with recommendations to address the nation's debt crisis. The bipartisan Commission fell short of the supermajority vote required to submit their recommendations to Congress. President Trump declared a debt crisis, but didn't act like it. Various commissions and think tanks have made numerous recommendations. In 2019, a Congressional Committee was appointed to recommend budget process reforms, but that Committee could not agree on any recommendations to submit to Congress. While the dominant sentiment is that maybe if we ignore it, it will just go away, the debt crisis will not just vanish. A Fiscal Cliff: New Perspectives on the U.S. Debt Crisis is a timely addition to a critical policy discussion.


Reclaim Liberty

Reclaim Liberty

Author: Robert J. Thorpe

Publisher: Robert Thorpe

Published: 2010-07-30

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 9780615380445

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WASHINGTON IS BROKEN! Its out-of-control spending and debts have set new, unimaginable records: - FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: spent over 1/3 of a TRILLION DOLLARS in just 28 days during February 2010 ($9 million per minute) - NATION: pays over $1.1 BILLION per day on the national debt interest payments (3/4 million per minute), over $4 billion per day by 2020 - TAXPAYERS: each owes $1.1 MILLION of the federal government debt (not including $10 TRILLION of new borrowing and debt through 2020) RECLAIM LIBERTY contains common sense solutions for repairing and restoring our Constitutional government and reclaiming our personal liberties and religious freedoms. 15 new citizen / State-sponsored Constitutional amendments and how to ratify them, including: a balanced budget, end to national debt, income tax and congressional reforms, protections for individual and State's rights. Out-of-control federal spending and national debt is exposed; we will soon face a "Greece-like" demise if we don't rein-in Washington. Learn how to reform congressional members and curb ever-growing federal debt, spending, federal salaries and waste. Learn how to choose, elect and support quality candidates and effectively communicate with and influence your representatives. Includes over 600 'day-planner' style entries where the reader can keep track of important information, dates and communications. Resources include 14 recommended books, 6 news-based websites, 20 resource websites and a terrific FREE news gathering organizational tool. Includes the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Constitution of the United States and all the amendments, and a new 2010 version of The Declaration of Independence. Also 50 memorable quotes from our Founding Fathers and describes what our "moral and virtuous" Founders believed and how "political correctness" and our "progressive" governments have strayed from our Founder's visions. LEARN MORE: www.ReclaimLiberty.us


America's Fiscal Constitution

America's Fiscal Constitution

Author: Bill White

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2014-04-01

Total Pages: 577

ISBN-13: 1610393449

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What would Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, the Roosevelts, Truman, and Eisenhower have done about today's federal debt crisis? America's Fiscal Constitution tells the remarkable story of fiscal heroes who imposed clear limits on the use of federal debt, limits that for two centuries were part of an unwritten constitution. Those national leaders borrowed only for extraordinary purposes and relied on well-defined budget practices to balance federal spending and revenues. That traditional fiscal constitution collapsed in 2001. Afterward -- for the first time in history -- federal elected officials cut taxes during war, funded permanent new programs entirely with debt, grew dependent on foreign creditors, and claimed that the economy could not thrive without routine federal borrowing. For most of the nation's history, conservatives fought to restrain the growth of government by insisting that new programs be paid for with taxation, while progressives sought to preserve opportunities for people on the way up by balancing budgets. Virtually all mainstream politicians recognized that excessive debt could jeopardize private investment and national independence. With original scholarship and the benefit of experience in finance and public service, Bill White dispels common budget myths and distills practical lessons from the nation's five previous spikes in debt. America's Fiscal Constitution offers an objective and hopeful guide for people trying to make sense of the nation's current, most severe, debt crisis and its impact on their lives and our future.


New Perspectives on State Government Fiscal Challenges

New Perspectives on State Government Fiscal Challenges

Author: Barry W. Poulson

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2023-07-03

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1666932043

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In this book on new fiscal approaches, nineteen experts examine topics ranging from constitutional reform and debt fatigue to fiscal rules and zero-based budgeting. Together, these contributions inform a multifaceted, nuanced argument for the need to formalize spending restraint and redefine state debt to include unfunded liabilities. Scholars will find the book useful as a reference tool explaining how rules-based fiscal policy is used to address debt fatigue and unsustainable spending growth. Legislators and practitioners will find the book useful as a reference source in designing and simulating second generation fiscal rules, and educators will find the book helpful for its close analysis of policies in representative states such as Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Nebraska, and California.