Just as the worldwide financial shock and Great Recession fade, the next economic crisis is quickly descending upon us: America's ballooning government deficits and debt load. The United States'fiscal outlook was daunting even prior to recent events, thanks to massive tax cuts, surging entitlement costs, rising defense expenditures, and other priorities. In the wake of the recent crisis, the outlook is far bleaker, as policymakers have spent trillions to stabilize the financial system and economy. Fundamental changes in tax policy and government spending are immediately needed to head off a collapse in the nation's economy and our living standards. Most Americans have only a vague understanding of this threat, but virtually everyone knows enough to be concerned. In this book, Mark Zandi -one of the nation's highest-profile economists, whose advice has been relied upon by hundreds of large companies and both recent presidential candidates - explains exactly where we stand. Writing in plain English, Zandi reveals how and why the nation's fiscal situation has eroded so badly, why it's so urgent to address it now -- and what can and must be done.