The Role of Government in the Economy
Required Readings:
- Waymaker Module on Fiscal Policy, Sections 1 (The Federal Budget) & 2 (State & Local Budgets)
- Economic Report of the President, Table B-81, “Federal receipts, outlays, surplus or deficit and debt“
- Economic Report of the President, Table B–86. “State and local government revenues and expenditures“
- The Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0540.pdf
- The Wall Street Journal
Additional Readings:
- Friedman & Friedman, Free to Choose, Chapter 1, pp. 19 – 29, Chapter 2
- Friedman, Capitalism & Freedom, Chapter 2
- Dehaven, Corporate Welfare in the Federal Budget
- Interactive Citizen’s Handbook: Your Guide to the U.S. Government
LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR TOPIC 7:
- You should be able to explain the essential characteristics of government.
- There are a variety of views from conservative to liberal about the appropriate goal of government in society (i.e. what services government should provide to its citizens, what regulations it should impose, etc). You should be able to explain the pros and cons of these different views.
- You should be able to differentiate between private, public and externality goods.
- You should be able to identify the major categories of govt expenditure at both the federal and state & local levels.
- You should be able to identify the major sources of federal and state & local funding