"The New American Economy" Is An Important Book That Should Be Read And Discussed

Full disclosure: This is a review of Bruce Bartlett's latest book.  I know Bruce well and consider him to be a friend.  He's also one of the bloggers here at Capital Gains and Games.  I told Bruce I would be writing a review but not what it was going to say.  And...although there's an ad on CG&G, we're not making a penny even if you click on it to purchase the book.

The bottom line is simple: read this book.

The fact that Bruce criticizes supply-side economics in this book or, rather, the way supply-side economics is defined today, is hardly a surprise.  Bruce has been doing that for some time.  Nevertheless, because he not only used to be a supply-side true believer but, as Jack Kemp's chief economist, one of the people most responsible for translating the theory into actual legislation, his credentials for the criticism are unimpeachable.

But what makes this book important is that Bruce criticizes the acolytes of both supply-side and Keynesian economics and in the process points the way to the type of fiscal policy deal that few others ems willing to discuss in mixed (that is, bipartisan) company.

Because of that, The New American Economy might well be looked back at as the start of a substantive discussion that leads to some fiscal sanity.