TY - BOOK ID - 80819245 TI - Taxes, spending, and the U.S. government's march toward bankruptcy PY - 2007 SN - 9780511618253 9780521869331 9780521689588 9780511349898 0511349890 0521869331 0521689589 0521689589 1107171296 1281085960 9786611085964 0511350791 0511349025 0511348053 0511573545 0511618255 PB - Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, DB - UniCat KW - Fiscal policy KW - Taxation KW - Budget deficits KW - Business, Economy and Management KW - Economics UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:80819245 AB - 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'. ER -