by David Wessel
First published 2012
David Wessel examines how the federal budget spiraled beyond control during the 2011 fiscal year. The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist follows key officials as they grapple with unsustainable spending. Jacob Lew directs the White House Office of Management and Budget while Douglas Elmendorf runs the Congressional Budget Office. Former Commerce Secretary Pete Peterson, who founded Blackstone, weighs in on the crisis. Wessel shows where taxpayer money actually goes and why the budget process broke down. He reveals the political forces and personal decisions that created this fiscal mess. The book explains complex budget mechanics through the experiences of insiders who lived through the chaos. Wessel gives readers clear insight into how Washington really works when trillions of dollars hang in the balance.
Genres: business, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: insider-perspective, investigative-journalism
Setting: United States
Period: 2011
208 pages · Hardcover · Crown Business