Where Does the Money Go? Rev Ed: Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis – The Irreverent and Eye-Opening Primer on Washington Politics and Economics (Guided Tour of the Economy)

I finally found an interesting book that explains the Federal Budget, gets into how the money is raised and spent, and what the money does. It talks about the last 50 years of deficit spending, and only a couple of the Clinton years running a surplus. It argues that we need fiscal reform, and has tables and forms for individuals to attempt to devise their own taxation and spending schemes. It discusses many of the common myths.... the relatively small budgetary impact of our foreign aid, the tiny portion of the budget going to the various arts programs (which draw attention, nevertheless), and that we are running a deficit of hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars, even discontinuing all of NASA spending is just a drop in the bucket.

Although "Where Does The Money Go" is about four years old and info is dated, it presents the complexity of solving our economic and deficit problems. People who say, " Just do away with waste and fraud, will better understand that the problems require serious reform which the Congress is unwilling to tackle without pressure from us. It is easier for one party to blame the other.

This is a great book that everyone should have and read. It presents the facts in an accurate, and readable way, and provides an excellent basis for rational conversation about the US Budget. Whether people utilize these facts for rational conversation is another matter, but at least there is no excuse for not having the facts. The only problem with this book is that it is not updated every year or two because the facts change rapidly and the book cannot keep up to date.

I read the first edition of this book in early 2008, before the financial debacle, and I was convinced then. Now I believe this should be required reading for every U.S. citizen. This book is not written with a political perspective. It is written with a factual perspective. Enough with the political posturing. Our Congress does not have the political backbone to do what is not only correct, but absolutely required to save our country. Congress is not running our country, lobbyists are. And they do not consider the common good....they are earning tons of money to help their special interest employer earn tons of money. We have to turn this thing around FAST.

Not my favorite subject to read about - but helps me to better understand how our government is supposed to work - - - and how it has failed to get it all together - helpful to at least better understand how we got into such a financial mess with run-away debt. Has good illustrations and helpful descriptions of how Deficit leads to Debt. I recommend it to all serious minded people who are concerned about the debt crisis our country is in now. I just wish all our politicians would read it!!! Bill T

I had to purchase this for my Graduate course work, but let me tell you. This is an excellent book! It’s easy to read and comprehend!

Professor (old as balls) required us to purchase this book. While it does offer some interesting insights into the budgetary process, it’s from 2011 and extremely dated given everything that’s happened in the last decade.

This was very informative and non partisan. Perfect primer on one of the most important issues facing today