Despite these many modifications, the basic thrust of the book is unchanged. As in the previous editions, the goal is to interweave institutional, theoretical, and empirical material to provide students with a clear and coherent view of government spending and taxing. During 2003-2004, we worked together at the Council of Economic Advisers. People frequently ask us whether this time in government changed our views of the role of economics. We certainly learned an enormous amount about fiscal institutions and the policymaking process. But we both came away from the experience more convinced than ever that modern public finance provides a practical and invaluable framework for thinking about policy issues. In this textbook, we have tried to do just what we did when we worked in Washington to emphasize the links between economic analysis and current political issues.