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Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal...

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Editorial Reviews

He's one of America's most capable, canny, candid, and independent financial experts. Now David M. Walker sounds a call to action. Comeback America is a tough-minded, innovative, inspiring guide to help us avoid the approaching economic abyss and put the country back on track again.

As comptroller general of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—"the nation's top auditor"—Walker warned Congress and the administration as the federal surplus became a giant deficit under George W. Bush. As president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, he now works full-time to raise public awareness regarding mounting debt burdens being imposed on future generations. Comeback America is his crucial manifesto, a way for President Obama to end out-of-control government spending and reform our tax, retirement, health care, defense, and other systems—before it's too late.

Walker believes that by 2030, absent significant reforms to current government programs and policies, federal taxes could double from current levels, meaning less money and poorer education for kids—which will hurt families along with our nation's economic strength and position in the world. If our foreign creditors—such as China—decide to buy fewer of our Treasury bonds, interest rates will rise and cars and homes will become less affordable.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Comeback America shows how we can return to our founding principles of fiscal responsibility and stewardship for future generations. The book includes bold ideas to control spending, save Social Security, dramatically alter Medicare, and simplify the tax code—all taking into account the Obama Administration's current efforts, which receive never-before-published assessments both complimentary and critical.

Nonpartisan, nonideological, and filled with a love of the country its esteemed author has spent his life serving, Comeback America is a book for anyone interested in America's economic future—in other words, a book everyone should read.

Customer Reviews

A must read for every concerned citizen

Reviewed by Hal C. Wingo, 2010-02-21

David Walker does the near impossible with this book. He writes as an expert with real time experience on federal financial matters but in language that everyone can understand. It would be helpful (but maybe not hopeful) if every member of Congress were required to read the book, but as Walker points out, fiscal reform and responsibility will not come from Congress, it will come from the people. We won't reform the system and give it a chance to survive without demanding it ourselves. Walker clearly spells out how grass root action can begin the process of reforming a totally dysfunctional government.

Not an easy "read" but incredibly important for every citizen

Reviewed by coach, 2010-02-21

Ok, the subject matter is dry, but this book is so important that it should be required reading for every citizen. If you can't bring yourself to read it, then at least watch the documentary film I.O.U.S.A., which prominently features the author and at least reveals the basic financial problems facing all of us. The book gives some possible solutions. He tackles every sacred cow in government.

Excellent job, but not quite definitive

Reviewed by Ben J. St Hilaire, 2010-02-17

First off, a bit of important information about the person writing the review: I'm neither a fiscal policy expert, nor a fiscal policy newcomer. I would say I'm more informed than the Average Joe, but definitely not an expert. I'll be giving my OPINIONS on a few different aspects of the book: relevance, clarity, accuracy, and objectivity. I give it four stars because I think Mr. Walker did an excellent job of both identifying a major fiscal policy issue, and giving it a thorough, rigorous analysis that should be accessible to most people with a comfortable command of reading in English. For those reasons, it's above average, so more than three stars. At the same time, there were some parts of the author's case where his reasoning wasn't as strong or as thorough as other parts. It left me with some important questions unanswered. For that reason, I don't think it quite rises to the level of five stars.

For anybody who is interested in an intelligent, earnest discussion of America's fiscal circumstances, I would recommend this book as a good contribution to a larger conversation.

RELEVANCE: This book is highly relevant. Regardless of your political views, if you're not concerned about the sustainability of the fiscal practices of the American political system, I would politely suggest you pay closer attention.

CLARITY: As I said, I'm not a fiscal policy expert. I am highly educated, and I read highly technical documents on a routine basis. So, my standards of clarity might not reconcile with yours. That being said, I found that the author did a magnificent job of capturing the most important details of the fiscal policy issues he was discussing, and putting them in very simple, easy to read language, without "dumbing" anything down.

ACCURACY: I have to be clear hear that this is my best educated guess. The author is privy to a lot more information on the subject than I am, so he most certainly knows things that I don't know. There are probably lots of other people who know more than I do who may be able to spot problems that I didn't. That being said, everything he mentioned about the history and details of American fiscal policy is factually accurate, to the best of my knowledge. Where I have some moderate quarrels with him is in some of his rhetorical characterizations of specific government policies. For example, in his discussion of problems with the Alternative Minimum Tax, after giving a spot-on analysis of some key flaws in the policy's design, he implies that those flaws make the AMT into a con-job on the American people, without presenting any evidence for why we should attribute it to dishonest motives on the part of the government rather than simply a well-intentioned, poorly-implemented policy instrument. Since he asserts early on in the book that existing problems with the US government are with its processes, procedures, and structures, not with its people, it seems a bit inconsistent to later imply that a broken policy is an intentional strategy for ripping off taxpayers.

OBJECTIVITY: I give the author nearly full marks on this one. While I disagree with him on some fundamental philosophical points, one thing he does particularly well throughout the book is strive to give a fair and independent perspective on every policy issue he discusses. He succeeds in presenting his opinion, with all of his substantial expertise, as still an opinion, without devolving into partisanship or indulging personal vendettas against people he disagrees with. That's not to say that his passions never come through, sometimes with overly blunt force. But unlike much of what passes for sound political commentary these days, he never lets his opinions completely derail his capacity for rational judgment. There are a few moments where you have to wonder "Was that last line REALLY necessary?", but the vast majority of his commentary is measured, considerate, and more concerned with getting at the truth than scoring political points.

come back america

Reviewed by Judith L. Leapman, 2010-02-15

terrific book in great condition at a very reasonable price. that said the author is an intellegent forward thinking individual who has a most important message to the populace of this country: WAKE UP to the horrific fiscal condition our so called leaders have put us. i recommend that all literate americans read this most important book.

tough book to swallow

Reviewed by photondn, 2010-02-14

David Walker's "Comeback America" offers a solution to stop the United States from going its current course into insolvency.

His approach is to take government programs and departments, such as Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and the military, and streamline how they operate so that expenditures are kept within a limit and used more efficiently. Furthermore, he proposes a new tax policy that is more fair and perhaps bring more revenue. It sounds like the same rhetoric that politicians would say, but it isn't. He gets into details about how government should operate. It is like keeping the good stuff from the US government but adjust it so that government programs are not wasteful and fully funded. He isn't calling for a more limited government or an expanded government. He seems to believe there is still time to keep the good stuff and yet not be fiscally insolvent.

Much of what he believes and proposes are probably going to be at odds with political ideas. For instance, I don't think liberals are going to appreciate his tax proposal which includes, I think, broadening the tax base and the stark reality that comprehensive health care and low costs do not go together. Conservatives and the Tea party are not going to appreciate the idea of increase taxes. Conservatives seek for a limited government and Walker is not that kind of person. The only group might appreciate Walker's views are independents.

Walker admires Theodore Roosevelt and, I think, favors the policy of FDR. He recognizes the Constitutional idea of limited government but also believes that social programs is a good idea for society. He seems to disagree with the liberal notion of unlimited spending on social programs and taxing the rich and the conservative notion of limited government and cutting taxes.

I am mixed with this book. My impression is that there is a little bit of having cake and eating it too. In one case we should benefit from the programs that non-US socialized countries have but yet not be like those countries. Also, the Constitutional idea of limit government would have kept the expansion of government along with the expansion of wasteful spending in check, but now the expansion of government should be kept and reformed. He proposes a 'fair' tax policy but I am skeptical of what makes things 'fair'. It is like a push-pull kind of thing. I don't disagree with all his ideas; he does have good points such as those about Medicare. Despite my skepticism, some of his tax ideas are pretty good.

I could go on about this book, but I'll end it here. There seems to be hope and time for the US before going to down the current path to insolvency. Fortunately, voters seemed to have slammed the political brakes with the recent elections before going down that path so that the US re-examine where the US should do and go. I don't agree with Walker's political views, but he does provide good insight on the current fiscal crisis.