How do politics affect government spending? Spending policy divides the Republican Party / Shawn Macomber ; The Republican Party has shown it cannot control spending / Nick Gillespie and Veronique de Rugy ; Spending can be controlled only by cutting the size of government / Ramesh Ponnuru ; A left-leaning strategy would use government spending to spur growth / Will Marshall and Robert Kuttner ; Fiscal discipline is compatible with meeting spending needs / Dean Baker and Heather Boushey --

Do governments spend tax money wisely? Subsidies to wealthy agribusinesses are counterproductive / Mark Zepezauer ; Lobbyists and congressmen collude to waste taxpayers' money / Ronald D. Utt ; Moving budget decisions to the states will lead to less spending / Chris Edwards ; Returning spending decisions to the states leads to inequities in health care / Ron Scherer ; Local school boards should have more control over education spending / Glenn Cook --

How do government spending policies affect the economy? The current budget ensures security and economic growth / George W. Bush ; Critical areas demand more government spending / Robert Greenstein, Richard Kogan, and Matt Fiedler ; Concern over deficits helps limit government growth / W. James Antle III ; Financing our deficit spending with foreign investment is risky / C. Fred Bergsten and Edwin M. Truman ; Tax breaks are an inefficient and inequitable form of government expenditure / Eric Toder, Bernard Wasow, and Michael P. Ettlinger --

How must government spending change to meet future challenges? An aging society will require reforms in government spending policies / Dennis S. Ippolito ; Real changes in entitlement spending are necessary to prevent fiscal troubles / David M. Walker ; Future prosperity depends on government investment in infrastructure / Sherle R. Schwenninger ; Government spending should better reflect women's priorities / Jane Midgley ; The War on Terror requires a new strategy in defense expenditures / Lael Brainard and Michael O'Hanlon ; Spending on the War on Terror is a large burden on American households / Joshua S. Goldstein.