Why Budgets Matter : : Budget Policy and American Politics; Revised and Updated Edition / / Dennis S. Ippolito.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Penn State University Press Complete eBook-Package 2016
• VerfasserIn: Ippolito, Dennis S.,
• Place / Publishing House: University Park, PA : : Penn State University Press, , [2016]; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Edition: Revised and Updated
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (368 p.)

When the first edition of Why Budgets Matter was published in 2003, the federal budget had fallen back into deficit. At the time, fairly modest changes in taxes and spending would have ensured that deficits and debt would remain at tolerable levels. Instead, the disconnect between taxes and spending that had plagued the United States since the 1960s grew even greater. A near-catastrophic economic collapse beginning in December 2007 then magnified the fiscal consequences of irresponsible policy choices. This new edition examines how and why the balanced-budget equilibrium of the 1990s was destabilized in the 2000s. It also places this latest partisan battle over the size of government in historical perspective by exploring its connection to earlier budget policy eras.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Figures and Tables -- Preface -- 1. Perspectives on Budget Policy -- 2. The “Small Government” Era (1789–1860) -- 3. Budgeting for Government Growth (1860–1915) -- 4. The Transition to Modern Government (1915–1940) -- 5. War and Defense Budgets (1940–1970) -- 6. Social Welfare Budgets and Deficits (1970–1990) -- 7. Reconciliation and Balanced Budgets (1990–2001) -- 8. Destabilizing Budget Policy (2001–) -- Selected Bibliography -- Index