The Politics of Bad Ideas: The Great Tax Cut Delusion and the Decline of Good Government in America

by Jones; Bryan

• ISBN13: 9780205600793
• ISBN10: 0205600794
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2007-11-16
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This highly anticipated addition to the "Great Questions in Politics" series offers a provocative argument about the persistence of bad ideas in shaping American economic policy. The result of a collaboration between political scientist Bryan D. Jones and economist Walter Williams, The Politics of Bad Ideasis indispensable reading for any study of American government, public policy, or economic and budgetary analysis. The Politics of Bad Ideasexamines why, over the last quarter century, bad economic ideas -- such as cutting taxes without cutting spending -- have become so influential in shaping government policies. Using in-depth research and trenchant political and economic analysis, the book explores why those bad ideas continue to survive despite overwhelming evidence that they in fact cause damage to the federal governmentrs"s long-term fiscal stability and the American economy.

Author Biography

Bryan D. Jones is Donald R. Matthews Distinguished Professor of American Politics and Director of the Center for American Politics and Public Policy at the University of Washington, Seattle.  His scholarly interests focus on American public policy processes.  Jones' numerous books include Politics and the Architecture of Choice (Chicago, 2001), Preconceiving Decision-Making in Democratic Politics (Chicago, 1994), both winners of the APSA Political Psychology Section Robert Lane Award, and Agendas and Instability in American Politics (co-authored with Frank Baumgartner; Chicago, 1993), winner of the 2001 Aaron Wildavsky Award for Enduring Contribution to the Study of Public Policy.

 

Walter Williams is Distinguished Fellow, Center for American Politics and Public Policy, and Professor Emeritus, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington. He is a frequent contributor to the editorial pages of newspapers throughout the country.  His numerous books include Reaganism and the Death of Representative Democracy (Georgetown University Press, 2003), Honest Numbers and Democracy (Georgetown University Press, 1998), and Mismanaging America (University Press of Kansas, 1990).  

 

Table of Contents

Preface	p. V
The Politics of Bad Ideas	p. 1
The Tax Cut Theories	p. 29
Evaluating the Claims	p. 50
Budgetary Politics and the Spending Mind-Set	p. 86
Institutions, Rules, and Politics	p. 123
Big Government Republicanism Costs Money	p. 141
Politics, Economics, and Tax Theories	p. 161
The Impacts of Recent Fiscal Policies on America	p. 194
The Rise and Decline of Reality-Based Policymaking in the Federal Government, 1945-2007	p. 232
The Role of Institutions	p. 261
Why Do Bad Ideas Persist?	p. 295
Escaping the Dead Weight of Bad Ideas	p. 329
More Detailed Analyses of Results Presented in Chapter 3	p. 364
Index	p. 369
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