Setting National Priorities The 2000 Election and Beyond

by Aaron, Henry; Reischauer, Robert D.

• ISBN13: 9780815774020
• ISBN10: 0815774028
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Summary

" If the subject of influence in Washington interests you, this series of books deserves your respectful attention...it has changed the ways in which American politicians think about the budget." "The Washington Post"

Table of Contents

The Dawning of a New Era	1	(36)
Robert D. Reischauer
The Economy	2	(1)
The Budget	3	(11)
The Issues	14	(2)
Chapter Summaries	16	(21)
PART ONE The International Challenges
Defense and Foreign Policy: Time to End the Budget Cuts	37	(36)
Michael O'Hanlon
The Budget Facts	38	(2)
U.S. Military Strategy Today	40	(3)
The U.S. Military Today	43	(9)
Buying Adequate National Defense on $275 Billion a Year	52	(12)
International Affairs	64	(5)
Conclusion	69	(4)
Trade Policy at a Crossroads	73	(24)
I. M. Destler
Trade and Economic Performance, 1974--99	73	(2)
Success after Success: NAFTA, the Uruguay Round, and Beyond	75	(1)
The Failure to Extend Fast Track	76	(5)
Anxiety over Globalization	81	(3)
Trade Liberalization: Multiple Reasons to Persist	84	(3)
Breaking the Stalemate	87	(10)
PART TWO The Societal Challenges
Families at Risk	97	(40)
Isabel V. Sawhill
Families under Stress	98	(12)
What Can Be Done?	110	(27)
Growing American Inequality: Sources and Remedies	137	(30)
Gary Burtless
Why Should We Care?	140	(4)
Why Has Inequality Increased?	144	(8)
Policy Responses	152	(6)
Future Directions	158	(3)
Conclusion	161	(1)
Appendix: Measuring Income Inequality	162	(5)
Paying for an Elderly Population	167	(44)
Henry J. Aaron
Robert D. Reischauer
Darling, We Are Growing Older	168	(1)
The Economic Burden of Dependents	169	(2)
Public Budgets	171	(1)
Social Security	172	(17)
Medicare	189	(14)
Medicaid	203	(4)
Conclusion	207	(4)
The Rocky Road to Tax Reform	211	(58)
Henry J. Aaron
William Gale
James Sly
Federal Taxes: An Overview	212	(8)
Effects of Federal Taxes	220	(12)
Does the Budget Surplus Justify Large Tax Cuts?	232	(3)
Strategies for Modifying the Current Tax System	235	(5)
Specific Reforms	240	(8)
Fundamental Tax Reform	248	(13)
Conclusion	261	(8)
PART THREE Domestic Priorities
The National Agenda in Elementary and Secondary Education	269	(34)
Diane Ravitch
Student Performance	270	(5)
The Problem of Teacher Quality	275	(2)
Reforming the Governance of Education	277	(5)
The Need to Reform Categorical Programs	282	(21)
Beyond City Limits: A New Metropolitan Agenda	303	(30)
Bruce Katz
The Patterns of Metropolitan Growth	304	(2)
The Dark Side of Metropolitan Growth	306	(2)
The Challenges Facing Metropolitan Communities	308	(2)
The Impact of Federal and State Policies on Patterns of Metropolitan Growth	310	(6)
The Rise of Metropolitan Politics	316	(8)
The Federal Metropolitan Agenda	324	(3)
The Promise and the Challenge	327	(6)
Federal Crime Policy: Declare a Moratorium	333	(26)
John J. DiIulio Jr.
Public Concern Keeps the Focus on Crime	335	(3)
Counting Crime Victims	338	(3)
Sentencing Violent Felons	341	(7)
Treating Drug-Only Offenders	348	(2)
Handling Juvenile Offenders	350	(9)
Environmental Policy in the Next Century	359	(34)
Paul R. Portney
Trends in Environmental Quality and Public Opinion	360	(5)
The Environmental Protection Agency and Environmental Regulation	365	(8)
New Directions in Environmental Policy	373	(8)
Global Climate Change	381	(4)
Conclusion	385	(8)
PART FOUR Making Government Work
Changing the Shape of Government	393	(28)
Paul C. Light
An Inventory of Change	395	(7)
Accidents and Confusion	402	(11)
Reshaping by Other Means	413	(3)
Conclusion	416	(5)
The Three Faces of Reinvention	421	(28)
Donald F. Kettl
Three Faces	422	(1)
Works Better, Costs Less	423	(2)
What Should Government Do?	425	(1)
Search for Political Relevance	426	(2)
The Effects of Reinvention	428	(7)
The Lessons of Government Reform	435	(3)
Reforming the Reforms	438	(1)
The Government Performance and Results Act	439	(2)
Information Technology	441	(1)
Civil Service Reform	442	(2)
Conclusion	444	(5)
The U.S. Campaign Finance System under Strain	449	(30)
Thomas E. Mann
Campaign Finance Law: Theory versus Practice	450	(7)
Ailments: Chronic and Acute	457	(3)
Comparative Perspectives	460	(2)
Alternative Approaches to Reform	462	(12)
The Politics of Campaign Finance Reform	474	(5)
Contributors	479	(4)
Index	483