This comprehensive book describes and analyzes the substance and politics of public budgeting at the national, state, and local levels of government. In doing so, it takes a comparative approach, illustrating the distinctiveness of budgeting at each level, as well as highlighting the features common to all three. A unifying focus is the extent to which budgetary decision makers use the budget as a central vehicle to advance their policy preferences. This fully updated sixth edition provides an extensive and thorough analysis of the causes of the Great Recession, its economic consequences, and the policy responses which pushed the boundaries of conventional monetary and fiscal policy. Also new to this edition is a chapter on the intergovernmental dimensions of public budgeting, along with boxed features highlighting hands-on vignettes of contemporary practical challenges facing budget makers at the different levels of government.

Product Description: As Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the early 1980s, David Stockman was a chief architect of the Reagan Revolution—a bold plan to cut taxes and reduce the scope and cost of government. The Triumph of Politics was Stockman's frontline report of the miscalculations, manipulations, and political intrigues that led to its failure...read more

Product Description: The Pulitzer-Prize-winning reporter, columnist, and bestselling author of In Fed We Trust, dissects the federal budget in this New York Times bestseller.In a sweeping narrative about the people and the politics behind the budget--a topic that is fiercely debated today in the halls of Congress and the media, and yet is often misunderstood by the American public--Wessel looks at the 2011 fiscal year (which ended September 30) to see where all the money was actually spent, and why the budget process has grown wildly out of control...read more

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Product Description: "This budget serves as a blueprint for American Renewal. Its principled reforms empower individuals with greater control over their future. It places great faith in the wisdom of the Founders and promises to renew confidence in the superiority of human freedom...read more

Product Description: In a sweeping narrative about the people and the politics behind the budget, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Wessel looks at the 2011 fiscal year (which ended September 30) to see where all the money was actually spent, and why the budget process has grown wildly out of control...read more

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Product Description: We hear it every day: government spending is out of control. Yet, despite all the rhetoric coming out of Washington about the need to cut spending, we continue to go deeper and deeper into debt. If we're serious about restoring America to fiscal health, we must do something about government spending, not just talk about it...read more

Product Description: We hear it every day: government spending is out of control. Yet, despite all the rhetoric coming out of Washington about the need to cut spending, we continue to go deeper and deeper into debt. If we're serious about restoring America to fiscal health, we must do something about government spending, not just talk about it...read more

Product Description: This book examines the possibility of the federal government reaching its statutory debt limit and not raising it, with a particular focus on government operations. The nature of the federal government's debt is explained, as are the processes associated with federal borrowing, and historical events that may influence prospective actions...read more