As a math teacher, this chapter's title caught my attention. In reading the section, it was really talking about the math of keeping the US budget balanced (or lack there of). I was intrigued to read about the economic policies of Reagan, Bush (#41) and Clinton. Each of them seemed to understand the slippery slope that we were headed down in terms of spending more than we were earning as a country. Each of those Presidents tried in their own way to close the gap or at least put the country in a position to return to a more balanced budget.
However, one of the most damning statements in this book was written by Alan Binder in Dec. 2010 when he wrote, "The nation took leave of its fiscal senses, and simply stopped paying for anything during President Bush 43's eight years." As a young adult during that time, I can remember buying my first house during this time and my wife and I were astonished at how much some banks were willing to lend us to buy a house. Thankfully, we did not push our spending as far as the banks would have allowed. However, we know people our age that did and took 5/1 ARM mortgages that simply became too expensive for them to afford. This small example makes me think that this is what happened on all levels of spending in the US from 2000-2008.
I do not know if Pres. Obama has helped this situation at all in the last four years but I am sure that information will be presented in the next 3 months. After reading this book, I believe that fiscal responsibility will become a large factor in who I vote for in the upcoming election.
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