Public Debt and the Common Good

James Odom is Senior Policy Advisor to Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes. A recent Baylor University graduate, Odom has served as Director of Public Affairs at the same institution as well as a policy analyst with then-Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri. In 2000, Odom was a candidate for the U.S. Congress from Oklahoma's fourth district.

• 1. Introduction 2. Justice as The Common Good 3. Of Keynes, Crisis, And Credit: An Overview of American Fiscal Trends in the Twentieth Century 4. Modeling Injustice 5. Interpreting Injustice 6. Progressivism and The Rise Of The American Administrative State 7. Conclusion

"Is public debt an instrument for promoting the common good, as many people in positions of political authority claim? Or is it a harbinger of the growing democratic despotism that such scholars as Alexis de Tocqueville recognized as a possible outcome? In this thoughtful and informative book, James Odom does not provide an answer but he does provide valuable insights into how we might wrestle with the continual growth of democratic debt."Richard E. Wagner, Hayek Program for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, George Mason University"Public debt is normally considered from an economic perspective. James Odom, in contrast, approaches it from a significantly different perspective—a moral one—that goes to the heart of the issue. His discussion is both penetrating and provocative, and all—citizens as well as scholars--should take cognizance of what he has to say."Jerold Waltman, R.W. Morrison Professor of Political Science, Baylor University"James Odom’s Public Debt and the Common Good raises significant themes that are sadly ignored by economists when they write on public debt. I say sadly because, as Odom recognizes, the creation and the management of public debt is fraught with implications for the qualities for the political systems through which our common lives are governed. Most economists are content to consign public debt to a comparatively minor role of balancing the aggregate economy by running budget deficits or surpluses depending on the relation of aggregate spending relative to the level of spending required for full employment."Public Finance and Management