About the Author

Bruce Bartlett is a columnist for the Economix blog of The New York Times, The Fiscal Times, and Tax Notes. Bartlett's work is informed by many years in government, including service on the staffs of Congressmen Ron Paul and Jack Kemp and Senator Roger Jepsen, staff director of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House, and deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department during the George H.W. Bush administration. Bartlett lives in Virginia.

Reviews

"[A] vital call for radical tax reform."--Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Beast

"[A]n excellent guide to the promise and peril of tax reform... [Bartlett's] writing is clear, concise, and crisp... Highly recommended for anyone wanting a pithy introduction to the challenges of designing a tax system we can be proud of."--Donald Marron, Director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center

"[Bartlett's] analysis of tax burdens and policies in modern times is essential reading for anyone following the present debate about income inequality and taxation."--Worth

"[Bartlett's] balanced, well-researched primer on America's tax system... is a refreshing entree to a difficult subject. The book's no-nonsense approach to tax policy proves surprisingly engaging."--The Economist

"[Bartlett's] contribution, a full-throated call for reform, has gotten a surprising amount of attention for a tax book... And the notice is well-deserved. He's written a clear, well-reasoned brief for reform."--Howard Gleckman, Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute and Brookings Institution

"[Bartlett] writes beautifully and seems to have no trouble avoiding getting caught up in the many complexities of tax policy."--Len Burman, Forbes and Professor of Economics at Syracuse

"A great introduction for anyone who doesn't really know much about the U.S. tax system and wants to learn the basics. It's clear, short, and a quick read."--Kevin Drum, Mother Jones

"A lucid analysis... a provocative book... remarkably successful in interweaving the underlying economics of the US tax system with the political choices that have made it what it is."--Financial Times

"A wonderfully clear primer on the relevant issues and the history behind them... Read this book."--Timothy Noah, The New Republic

"An excellent, wide-ranging guide to what matters about the U.S. federal income tax system, its history and problems, and where it might go next. Bartlett, who has been a favorite commentator of mine for many years, does a really excellent job of providing a lucid review that deserves... broad readership."--Daniel Shaviro, Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation at New York University Law School

"Bartlett gives a broad overview of federal income-tax policy. He argues that people want more government than they have been willing to pay for, and chronic deficits are no longer sustainable. He dismisses Grover Norquist's mission to 'starve the beast' of government as nonsense but favors reducing America's corporate tax rate because only Japan has a higher one. He sets forth political conditions necessary for reform: courage for Democrats and compromise for Republicans."--David Cay Johnston, The American Prospect

"Bartlett's book is a clear and comprehensive overview of today's complicated tax system."--Robert J. Samuelson, The Washington Post

"Bruce Bartlett has waded into the debate on tax policy with a thoughtful argument for the necessity of reform."--Tom Pauken, The American Conservative

"For a vivid picture on how evolving tax laws have wrecked America's fiscal standing, consult Bruce Bartlett's new book."--Froma Harrop, The Providence Journal

"If Obama wants to win this election, he needs to embrace radical tax reform. The shape and structure of sane reforms is already out there, as Bruce Bartlett explains."--Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Beast

"Impeccably fair-minded."--David Brooks, The New York Times

"In a political system beset by ignorance and misinformation, delivering basic information to interested citizens is a worthy goal. And Bartlett does it very well."--Joseph J. Thorndike, Tax Notes

"In his wonderful new study... Bruce Bartlett offers a useful thumbnail history on the federal government's seemingly haphazard role in the post-WWII evolution of the private health insurance industry."--Scott Galupo, U.S. News & World Report

"It is to Bartlett's credit as a writer that he makes this topic accessible, while showing great aplomb in dismantling many of the myths and misconceptions that exist about taxes."--Noah Kristula-Green, The Daily Beast

"Today we're living in a country deeply divided between winners and losers. Nowhere is that more evident than in our tax system--so distorted by loopholes, exemptions, credits, and deductions favoring the already rich and powerful that it no longer can raise the money needed to pay the government's bills. Among the people who saw this crisis coming was the conservative economist Bruce Bartlett... The Benefit and the Burden is a layman's guide through the jungle of a tax system that, thanks to rented politicians and anti-tax ideologues like Grover Norquist, enable the one percent to make off like bandits while our national debt soars sky-high."--Bill Moyers

"You gotta get this. You'll read it, and get mad, which is good."--Jon Stewart