By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following: Understand the arguments for and against requiring the U.S. federal budget to be balanced and Consider the long-run and short-run effects of a federal budget deficit.

In this chapter, you will learn about the following: Government spending; Taxation; Federal deficits and national debt; Using fiscal policy to fight recessions, unemployment, and inflation; Automatic stabilizers; Practical problems with...