The Bastiat Society of Nashville to Host Peter Calcagno

On August 15th, AIER’s Bastiat Society program in Nashville is hosting an event with Peter T. Calcagno, Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Public Choice & Market Process at the College of Charleston.

“How Systematic Deficits Got Their Start and What to Do About It”

Why has the United States experienced steadily rising deficits in the modern budget era, despite nearly five decades of legislative attempts to achieve fiscal discipline? Much of what the economics profession has written about U.S. public debt misses the central problem. We trace the roots of today’s fiscal policy problems to changes in informal institutions, or fiscal norms, during the 1880-1930 period. During this period, the prevailing informal institution changed from what has been called the Balanced Budget Norm (BBN) to what we call the Deficit-as-Policy Norm (DAP). In short, “informal norms trump formal constraints.”