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I’ve just released a short (1-hour read), low-cost, new book on Amazon, Beyond Zombie Rule: Restoring Fiscal Sanity In A Broken Congress [ [link removed] ]. The title demonstrates my concern over a critical but underappreciated threat to American democracy. This threat is not the one being discussed in the current presidential or Congressional campaigns and won’t be solved simply by who wins the presidency of control of Congress. Essentially, we’ve created a system where the dead hand of past Congresses exercises enormous control over our national budget. It’s as if fiscal zombies are ruling from the grave, leaving current and future generations with less and less ability to address the challenges of their time.
Well-intentioned but increasingly outdated spending and tax programs are devouring an ever-larger share of federal resources. We know already what the new president will find when first sitting down with the Office of Management and Budget. Every dollar of revenue for today and the eternal future has already been committed. And then some. Meanwhile, current law automatically requires future spending on existing, not new, programs to rise even faster than revenues. There’s no room for any campaign promise for another giveaway or what voters think should be a strengthened priority, whether education, children, infrastructure, defense, programs that support the long-neglected working class, or any other effort to promote upward mobility and economic growth. Our kids and their future are among the biggest losers.
Beyond Zombie Rule isn’t just a diagnosis of the problem. It traces its roots to policy decisions made decades ago and then presents a vision for reform. Both political parties must face reality. They cannot keep all their promises for growth in spending forever faster than our income, along with taxes well below what is necessary to support even current expenditures.
They must also support rules designed to restore fiscal democracy, where those living tomorrow have significant flexibility to orient resources to tomorrow’s opportunities rather than yesterday’s problems. The longer we wait, the more painful the reckoning will be. For policymakers, economists, and concerned citizens alike, Beyond Zombie Rule offers an essential roadmap for navigating America’s spending, tax, and budget future and ensuring the nation’s economic vitality.
*Beyond Zombie Rule” represents an attempt to update and make more accessible a book, Dead Men Ruling, which I wrote a decade ago. Successful budget reform requires engaging honestly with the public over what is at stake as our elected officials will soon be forced to address problems they’ve kicked down the road for a long time. This book represents one such engagement. If helpful, please pass on this column or the book itself.

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