Charleston: "The Evolution of Federal Budget Rules" with Peter T. Calcagno

27 Lockwood Drive,Charleston SC 29401

04 January, 2022

Description

Join the Bastiat Society of Charleston for an in-person event with Peter T. Calcagno, Ph.D. Join the Bastiat Society of Charleston for an in-person event with Peter T. Calcagno, Ph.D., Professor of Economics at the College of Charleston, and Director of the Center for Public Choice & Market Process, an undergraduate free-market center. Most discussions of federal government deficits and debt focuses on recent decades and formal budget rules, such as the debt ceiling, sequestration, and balanced budget amendments. However, the underlying deficit problem goes back much further and is driven in part by changes to informal rules. Beginning late in the 19th century, the informal rules that govern fiscal policy began to reward policymakers for increasing spending—even for increasing it beyond the capacity of federal revenues, and therefore at the cost of chronic deficits. Despite numerous legislative attempts to constrain spending over the past 40 years, these informal rules have trumped formal constraints, and the deficit problem has marched steadily on. Eventbrite registration required. This event is free and open to the public, but we suggest a donation of $20 to help sustain the chapter. _______________________ More about the speaker: Peter T. Calcagno, Ph.D., is Professor of Economics at the College of Charleston, and Director of the Center for Public Choice & Market Process, an undergraduate free market center. His areas of research are applied microeconomics, public choice and political economy. He is the Treasurer of the Public Choice Society, a Voting Member of AIER, a Board Member of the Classical Liberals in the Carolinas, and has served on the board of the APEE. He is the author of dozens of journal articles and book chapters, and the editor of Unleashing Capitalism: A Prescription for Economic Prosperity in South Carolina. He earned his B.S. in Economics and History from Hillsdale College and Ph.D. from Auburn University. AIER’s Bastiat Society program is a global network of business professionals committed to advancing free trade, individual freedom, and responsible governance. Our chapters host over 200 lectures, discussions, seminars, workshops, and conferences in over 20 countries each year.