| Deficit Hysteria: A Common Sense Look at America's Rush to Balance the Budget Contributor(s): Emeritus, Arthur Benavie Professor (Author) |
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ISBN: 027596308X ISBN-13: 9780275963088 Publisher: Praeger OUR PRICE: $74.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: September 1998 Annotation: The political consensus in the United States today is that the nation avoid deficit spending. But as virtuous and unassailable as that goal sounds, it has fallacies and dangers. In a lucid, nontechnical writing style, Benavie shows that deficits can be either good or bad and explains how to tell the difference. Deficits, or government borrowing, can be beneficial or harmful depending on what the government does with the money. Preventing such borrowing, Benavie points out, would be comparable to preventing one's family from borrowing money to buy a house or to put a child through college. Deficits can be beneficial to the nation's economic health in three main ways. When the economy slumps, a deficit, which is automatically created, helps to reduce the severity of the recession. When the economy is seriously depressed, boosting the deficit may be the only cure. Finally, deficits to support such investments as basic research, cleaning up toxic waste, and rebuilding inner cities are crucial to the economic health of future generations. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Political Economy - Business & Economics | Budgeting - Business & Economics | Economics - Macroeconomics |
| Dewey: 339.523 |
| LCCN: 98014926 |
| Lexile Measure: 1380 |
| Series: Greenwood Press Literature in |
| Physical Information: 0.83" H x 6.47" W x 9.6" (0.99 lbs) 168 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The political consensus in the United States today is that the nation avoid deficit spending. But as virtuous and unassailable as that goal sounds, it has fallacies and dangers. In a lucid, nontechnical writing style, Benavie shows that deficits can be either good or bad and explains how to tell the difference. Deficits, or government borrowing, can be beneficial or harmful depending on what the government does with the money. Preventing such borrowing, Benavie points out, would be comparable to preventing one's family from borrowing money to buy a house or to put a child through college. Deficits can be beneficial to the nation's economic health in three main ways. When the economy slumps, a deficit, which is automatically created, helps to reduce the severity of the recession. When the economy is seriously depressed, boosting the deficit may be the only cure. Finally, deficits to support such investments as basic research, cleaning up toxic waste, and rebuilding inner cities are crucial to the economic health of future generations. |