When George W. Bush came into office in 2001, the ten–year budget balance was officially projected to be at a surplus of $5.6 trillion. But after three big tax cuts, the bursting of the stock market bubble, and the devastating effects of 9/11 on the economy, the surplus has evaporated, and the deficit is expected to grow to $5 trillion over the next decade. America was once the greatest creditor to nations around the globe; it is now the largest debtor in the world. And the domestic deficit is only half the story. Given our $500 billion trade deficit and our anemic savings rate, we depend on an unprecedented $2 billion of foriegn capital every working day. If foreign confidence were to wane, this could lead to a dreaded hard landing. President Bush says that the deficit is just “numbers on paper.” Vice President Cheney claims that Reagan proved “deficits don't matter.” Peter G. Peterson—a lifelong Republican, chairman of the Blackstone Group, and former secretary of commerce under Nixon—shatters the myths with hard facts and a harrowing view of the twin deficits' real impact. Republicans and Democrats alike have mortgaged America's future through reckless tax cuts, out–of–control spending, and Enron–style accounting in Congress. And the situation will only get worse as the Baby Boom generation begins to retire, making unprecedented demands on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Despite what Bush says, we are on a path that could end in economic meltdown, and we simply cannot grow out of the deficit. In Running on Empty, Peterson takes us behind the politicians' smoke–and–mirror games, and forcefuly explains what we must do to rescue the future of our country.