For years, economists have debated the wisdom of increasing government spending during recessions. On the one hand, increased spending adds to budget deficits, but on the other, increased spending can stimulate the economy during a downturn, thus speeding recovery. Deficits topped $1.4 trillion...

State governments have been noticeably absent in contributing to U.S. economic growth since the recession of 2008–09. Despite some recovery in tax revenues, many states are still reporting budget shortfalls and spending pressures for pensions and health care.

January’s deal on the so-called fiscal cliff only raised projected revenue moderately and continued to push the spending issue forward unresolved. The economy may have been slowed down by such a drawn-out process, as well as by the uncertainty on the future size of government and on the...

Federal revenue is currently well below its postwar, pre-crisis average, while expenditure is well above, with both factors contributing to a large and persistent deficit. Under current law, the deficit situation would be quickly, if painfully, resolved, with the lion’s share resulting from...

Remarks before the Stemmons Corridor Business Association, Dallas, Texas, February 8, 2011 ; "I would be very wary of expanding our balance sheet further; indeed, given current economic and financial conditions, it is hard for me to envision a scenario where I would not use my voting position...

A problem facing the United States and many other countries is how to finance retirement consumption as the number of their workers per retiree falls. Policy analysts are increasingly advocating a move to a savings-for-retirement system. An apparent problem with this move is the shortage of good...

Remarks before the Stemmons Corridor Business Association, Dallas, Texas, February 8, 2011 ; "I would be very wary of expanding our balance sheet further; indeed, given current economic and financial conditions, it is hard for me to envision a scenario where I would not use my voting position...

The ratio of total household debt to aggregate personal income in the United States has risen from an average of 0.6 in the 1980s to an average of 1.0 so far this decade. In this paper we explore the causes and consequences of this dramatic increase. Demographic shifts, house price increases,...

In this paper the author attempts an analysis of the current financial/economic crisis that is wider ranging and more fundamental than he has been able to find. For this purpose he reviews some social science literature that views the current crisis as an episode in the secular decline of the...