The Debt and the Deficit: False Alarms/Real Possibilities

As the British trade deficit continues to grow, this trenchant, original and timely book on the US deficit and national debt offers much to readers on this side of the Atlantic.

The authors explain what national debts and deficits are, and what they are not. One thing they are not nearly as big as we think. Another thing they are not is a burden on the shoulders of our grandchildren. And one thing they are is a potential means of financing economic growth. Heilbroner and Bernstein do not shrug aside the debt and deficit. "The only remedy for our present frightened state of mind", they write, "is explanations that are simple but accurate, facts that will defuse unreasoning panic, and arguments that will stand up under the most skeptical examination."

Robert L. Heilbroner (1919-2005) was Norman Thomas Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research and author of The Worldly Philosophers and many other books.

Peter L. Bernstein (1919―2009), was an American economist and financial historian. Bernstein's ten books include the worldwide bestseller Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk. He also wrote countless articles in professional journals such as Harvard Business Review, Financial Analysts Journal and, in the popular press, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Worth magazine and Bloomberg.