{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/42723"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/42723","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Political Economy of the Emerging U.S. Fiscal Crisis","abstract":"The United States suffered a severe financial crisis in September of 2008, the effects of which are still strongly reverberating throughout the national economy and the finances of American government. While the financial downturn greatly exacerbated the nation's immediate fiscal stress, government policies have played a large role in the longer-term economic challenges. The buildup of financial insecurity for individuals and businesses since the 1970s, brought to painfully emphatic clarity by the 2008 financial crash, has citizens of all political persuasions deeply concerned about the future of the Republic. This thesis attempts to explain the historical context which is indispensable to understanding the significance of our current fiscal challenges. In doing so, we come to the conclusion that rising entitlement spending, coupled with severe problems within the nation's tax system, have become the primary drivers of the significant fiscal stress that is building. I argue that the most immediately viable option for reversing this trend, in a way that supports economic opportunity for all, is to implement fundamental tax reform to lift the current system's burdens of complication, inefficiency, and inequity off the shoulders of American taxpayers and businesses.","abstract_html":"The United States suffered a severe financial crisis in September of 2008, the effects of which are still strongly reverberating throughout the national economy and the finances of American government. While the financial downturn greatly exacerbated the nation's immediate fiscal stress, government policies have played a large role in the longer-term economic challenges. The buildup of financial insecurity for individuals and businesses since the 1970s, brought to painfully emphatic clarity by the 2008 financial crash, has citizens of all political persuasions deeply concerned about the future of the Republic. This thesis attempts to explain the historical context which is indispensable to understanding the significance of our current fiscal challenges. In doing so, we come to the conclusion that rising entitlement spending, coupled with severe problems within the nation's tax system, have become the primary drivers of the significant fiscal stress that is building. I argue that the most immediately viable option for reversing this trend, in a way that supports economic opportunity for all, is to implement fundamental tax reform to lift the current system's burdens of complication, inefficiency, and inequity off the shoulders of American taxpayers and businesses.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sage, Michael"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Public and International Affairs","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Public and International Affairs","degree_department":"Public and International Affairs","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Rothschild, Joyce"],"committee_members":["Datz, Giselle","Luke, Timothy W."],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-05-03","date_published":"2011-05-03","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:35Z","subjects":["History of U.S. Federal Budget","Fiscal Crisis","U.S. Fiscal Policy","Financial Crisis","Political Economy"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-05182011-232050"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-05182011-232050","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42723","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Rothschild, Joyce"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Datz, Giselle","Luke, Timothy W."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Public and International Affairs"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sage, Michael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T21:36:22Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T21:36:22Z","2011-06-10"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2011-05-03"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Public and International Affairs"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Public and International Affairs"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["History of U.S. Federal Budget","Fiscal Crisis","U.S. Fiscal Policy","Financial Crisis","Political Economy"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-05182011-232050"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42723"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The United States suffered a severe financial crisis in September of 2008, the effects of which are still strongly reverberating throughout the national economy and the finances of American government. While the financial downturn greatly exacerbated the nation's immediate fiscal stress, government policies have played a large role in the longer-term economic challenges. The buildup of financial insecurity for individuals and businesses since the 1970s, brought to painfully emphatic clarity by the 2008 financial crash, has citizens of all political persuasions deeply concerned about the future of the Republic. This thesis attempts to explain the historical context which is indispensable to understanding the significance of our current fiscal challenges. In doing so, we come to the conclusion that rising entitlement spending, coupled with severe problems within the nation's tax system, have become the primary drivers of the significant fiscal stress that is building. I argue that the most immediately viable option for reversing this trend, in a way that supports economic opportunity for all, is to implement fundamental tax reform to lift the current system's burdens of complication, inefficiency, and inequity off the shoulders of American taxpayers and businesses."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Public and International Affairs"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Political Economy of the Emerging U.S. Fiscal Crisis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Rothschild, Joyce"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Datz, Giselle","Luke, Timothy W."],"dc:contributor.department":["Public and International Affairs"],"dc:creator":["Sage, Michael"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T21:36:22Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T21:36:22Z","2011-06-10"],"dc:date.issued":["2011-05-03"],"dc:description.abstract":["The United States suffered a severe financial crisis in September of 2008, the effects of which are still strongly reverberating throughout the national economy and the finances of American government. 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