Instead, the survey suggests that the majority of Americans favor a combination of tax increases and benefit cuts to achieve this end.
Throughout the publication, empirical publications are used to substantiate the author's points. He makes frequent and ample use of published data without letting these override his own conclusions from the works used. Instead, there is a good balance between the use of data and the author's own views regarding the financial future of the United States.
Viard's assertions are therefore soundly substantiated without simply being a repetitive review of already existing literature. Instead, he combines the literature, survey data, and his own views in such a way as to provide a valuable contribution to existing investigation.
CONTRIBUTION
As mentioned, it can be said that the author makes a valuable contribution to the field of finance with this article. At the beginning of his article, Viard notes that some discussion on fiscal imbalance emphasize the impact on interest rates, while others focus on the potential consequences should policymakers not address the fiscal imbalance in due time. Such consequences could include the unwillingness of foreign lenders to buy additional Treasury securities or the default of the government's debt.
Viard's contribution on the other hand focuses upon the future under the assumption that there probably would be mitigation measures in place to handle the fiscal realities in the United...
Instead of the relatively short-term concern of interest rates and the relatively unlikely eventuality of debt defaults, Viard's contribution is a more realistic long-term vision of the future, and the likely solutions that might provide for the financial survival of American society.
PERSONAL REACTION
What I find most interesting in Viard's article are perhaps one rather unimportant element when taking into consideration the premise of the article. Nonetheless, this provided me with a connection point with the relatively technical subject matter of the work, and probably also serve to widen the potential audience of the article.
I for example found Viard's views on the definition of the middle class particularly striking, in terms of such definition being subjective. According to Viard, the general belief that the middle class comprises about 60% of society, with the upper and lower 20% respectively being the upper and lower classes. Instead, surveys quoted by the author reveal that these numbers are inaccurate, and that in fact many higher-income citizens in the traditional lower class and lower income groups in the upper classes also consider them part of the middle class group. I found this quite striking and surprising. Viard uses this wisely as substantiation for his point regarding the greater fiscal burden upon this class of citizens.
Reference
Viard, A.D. (2009). Four Long-Term Fiscal Realities. Business Economics.…
