‘Debt, Deficits and the Demise of the American Economy’

05-09-2011 • CNBC.com

Both of us were heavily influenced by the thinking in “The Black Swan,” written by Peter’s friend, Nassim N. Taleb. In the widely read and extensively cited book, Taleb warns about the “scandal of prediction” that causes too many investors and economists to miss “the highly improbable consequential” events that matter most in our lives. So adapting some of the principles from Taleb as well as our own conclusions, we set out to write a book that held to a third priority to which we agreed—expressing the problem in stark terms that could be comprehended without needing an economics degree. Our efforts, then, have brought us here, to the release of a comprehensive yet concise accounting of how we’ve dug this hole for ourselves, what the consequences will be, and, most importantly, how to protect our assets in such a tumultuous environment. The goal is not gratuitous fear-mongering, but rather an effort to provide a warning that the real bills are about to come due for the excesses of the past decade and it’s better to be forewarned and forearmed.