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Published by Yale University Press |
A plain-English explanation of federal deficits and debt and the threat they pose to our nation and our children's future. In this immensely timely book, Andrew Yarrow brings the sometimes
eye-glazing discussion of national debt down to earth, explaining in
accessible terms why federal debt is rising (and will soon rise much
faster), what effects it may have on Americans if debt is not brought
under control, why our government borrows, and what it will take to pay
it all back. The picture Yarrow paints should concern all Americans. Specifically,
he brings to light how rising Medicare, Social Security, and other
spending on one hand, and insufficient government revenues on the
other, make a mockery of fiscal responsibility. Deficits and debt,
Yarrow asserts, are crowding out spending on needed investments in
science, environment, infrastructure, and other domestic discretionary
programs and could severely harm our nation's and our citizens' future.
But he makes clear that this does not have to be a doomsday scenario.
If we act in a bipartisan fashion to restore fiscal health, we can
leave the next generation a much better legacy than trillions of
dollars of IOUs. pub date: 2008-05-25 | hardcover | 9780300123531 |