This blog is an effort to raise the level of debate about the role of government in the U.S. economy. The author, John F. Peterson, worked for over 23 years in the macroeconomics division of the Congressional Budget Office. In spite of CBO’s efforts to clarify the arguments for or against specific government policies, the political and public debate about the role of government has been dominated by visceral, generally ill-informed feelings and unwarranted generalizations. It has failed to focus on specific policies or try to sort out which issues can be informed by close analysis from those that are more philosophical in scope. This blog will try to provide a perspective on the wide variety of issues in order to clarify the debate about the role of government in the United States.