Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Acknowledgments ix
4. The View from Washington: Six Democrats and Six Republicans Talk About Debt xi
5. About the Author xiii
6. Chapter 1. What Are Deficits and Debt, and Why Are They Growing? 1
7. Chapter 2. Balancing and Unbalancing Our Budget: A History of Government Debt in the United States 28
8. Chapter 3. How Deficits Are Funded 48
9. Chapter 4. How Deficits and Debt Affect America and You 58
10. Chapter 5. The Potential Dangers of Doing Nothing, or Fiddling While Our Economy Goes Up in Smoke 70
11. Chapter 6. The Politics of Deficits and Debt 81
12. Chapter 7. What Can and Should Be Done to Reduce America’s Deficits and Debt? 93
13. Chapter 8. Concluding Thoughts: A Nation That Balances Its Books and a Government That Invests in America’s Future 133
14. Notes 139
15. Index 166