A People's Guide to the Federal Budget
At  the risk of inundating readers with sheer numbers, pie charts, and  assorted graphics, A People's Guide takes a singularly dry topic and  admirably makes it accessible to the masses. A solid review of "Where  Does the Money Come From?" and "Where Does the Money Go?" lays the  groundwork for an analysis of the Federal Debt and Obama's 2013 Budget  Request. The specific aim for this text is to help readers understand  Obama's 2013 proposed budget, a call to action if you will, with an aim  to nonpartisan presentation. The text is carefully laid out in a highly  digestible and sequential format. It includes simple, layperson's  concepts such as our Social Security wage tax holiday, down to 4.2  percent until the end of 2012, upon which the elucidation of more  complex tax topics can be built. A more complex graphic is a bar graph  with a 70-year review of "Revenues, Outlays, Deficits and Surpluses" -  and current deficits versus outlays aren't looking good! In the "Take  Action" chapter, a proactive chart provides a month-by-month layout of  "Opportunities to Take Action" leading up to October 1, the new fiscal  year. Readers would be well served by having a solid grasp of basic  government fiscal machinations prior to reading this guide. With clearly  presented concepts, consistently referring back to prior explanatory  text, there is a wealth of data packed into every page. Grades 10 and  up. -Meredith Toumayan, Topsfield Town Library, MA