The author argues that tax cuts and spending increases should come only as dividends of debt reduction, and that an aggressive debt-reduction strategy should be implemented now. He proposes a debt-reduction tax irrevocably directed toward the repayment of the principal of our national debt. As a...

This paper assesses the effects of fiscal consolidations associated with public debt reduction on medium-term output growth during periods of private debt deleveraging. The analysis covers 107 countries and 79 episodes of public debt reduction driven by discretionary fiscal adjustments during...