Paying the Price Ending the Great Recession and Beginning a New American Century

Just as the worldwide financial shock and Great Recession fade, the next economic crisis is quickly descending upon us: America's ballooning government deficits and debt load. The United States'fiscal outlook was daunting even prior to recent events, thanks to massive tax cuts, surging entitlement costs, rising defense expenditures, and other priorities. In the wake of the recent crisis, the outlook is far bleaker, as policymakers have spent trillions to stabilize the financial system and economy. Fundamental changes in tax policy and government spending are immediately needed to head off a collapse in the nation's economy and our living standards. Most Americans have only a vague understanding of this threat, but virtually everyone knows enough to be concerned. In this book, Mark Zandi -one of the nation's highest-profile economists, whose advice has been relied upon by hundreds of large companies and both recent presidential candidates - explains exactly where we stand. Writing in plain English, Zandi reveals how and why the nation's fiscal situation has eroded so badly, why it's so urgent to address it now -- and what can and must be done.

Mark Zandi is the Chief Economist of Moody’s Analytics. He is the cofounder of an economic consulting firm that was purchased by the Moody’s Corporation in late 2005. His recent research has focused on assessing the economic impacts of tax and government spending policies, the appropriate monetary policy response to asset market bubbles, the determinants of foreclosure and personal bankruptcy, and housing and mortgage market policies. He is on the board of directors of MGIC, the nation’s largest mortgage insurer, and The Reinvestment Fund, a non-profit that combines public and private capital to make investments in grocery stores, charter schools, health centers, and other facilities in inner cities in the Northeast. A trusted adviser to policymakers and an influential source of economic analysis for businesses, journalists, and the public, he often testifies before Congress and appears on CNBC, NPR, CNN, and Meet the Press. He is the author of Financial Shock.

Introduction     xiii

Chapter 1: Financial Shock to Financial Panic     1

Chapter 2: Bank Bailout     23

Chapter 3: Outside the Monetary Box     47

Chapter 4: As GM Goes, So Goes the Economy     71

Chapter 5: Stimulus Is Not a Dirty Word     91

Chapter 6: The Foreclosure Fiasco     119

Chapter 7: Fixing the Financial Plumbing     145

Chapter 8: The Fallout     171

Chapter 9: Getting Our Groove Back     197

Chapter 10: Don’t Bet Against the United States     219

Index     243