Taking a fresh look at familiar policy issues, AEI has released two new monographs: Fiscal and Generational Imbalances: New Budget Measures for New Budget Priorities by AEI visiting scholar Jagadeesh Gokhale and University of Pennsylvania professor Kent Smetters, and No Way Back: Why Air Pollution Will Continue to Decline by AEI adjunct fellow Joel Schwartz.

In Fiscal and Generational Imbalances, Smetters and Gokhale propose new fiscal measures for the federal budget. Their first recommendation is a Fiscal Imbalance measure that would show the extent of the federal government's long-term insolvency. The second measure, Generational Imbalance, would help policymakers strike an acceptable balance between the costs imposed on different generations. They write, "The federal government's spending priorities are set to change over the coming decades as the baby boom generation retires: future federal outlays will predominantly consist of social insurance payments. In such a budget environment, traditional measures such as debt held by the public, five- or ten-year-ahead cash-flow deficit projections, and longer-term but truncated summary measures have limited usefulness for policymaking. . . . To evaluate and compare all available policy alternatives on a neutral footing, we need to introduce new fiscal measures as part of our fiscal vocabulary."

In No Way Back, Schwartz argues that contrary to the position of many opinion leaders, air quality is certain to improve. He draws this conclusion because of the pollution reductions that result from older cars being retired, new standards for automobiles and heavy-duty trucks that are scheduled to be implemented in the next few years, and regulations requiring system-wide emissions reductions from large industrial facilities. Schwartz writes, "Public debate on air pollution policy is being driven by the false premise that air pollution will rise unless we redouble our efforts to reduce it. In reality, no one can stop continued improvements in air quality in America. There is truly no way back to the smog levels of yesterday."

Both monographs can be purchased from the AEI Press, which can be reached at 800.343.4499 or www.aei.org/shopaei/.