The Fiscal Crisis of the State

The Fiscal Crisis of the State refers to the tendency of government expenditures to outpacxe revenues in the U. S. during the later 1960s and early 1970s, but its relevance to other countries of the period and also in todays global economy is evident. When government expenditure constitutes a larger and larger share of total economy, theorists who ignore the impact of the state budget do so at their own (and capitalism’s) peril. This volume examines how changes in tax rates and tax structure used to regulate private economic activity. O'Connor theorizes that particular expenditures and programs and the budget as a whole can be understood only in terms of power relationships within the private economy.