“From the mid-1930s to the 1970s, the government made a set of commitments that led to expectations on the part of the American people about what their government owes them,” says Robert Reischauer, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office. “And they are totally unprepared to go back to a different world.”

— David Wessel Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget (2012)

More quotes by David Wessel

Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget (2012)

Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget (2012)

Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget (2012)

Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget (2012)

Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget (2012)

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: David Wessel (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.