In today's economic context, where an ever-increasing portion of the U.S. budget deficit is being financed by foreigners and where entitlement programs threaten to compound an already highly compromised public finance position, there is real risk of either a destructive burst of inflation or an outright government debt default.

Arthur C. Brooks was a Seattle-born liberal, but today he is president of the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right economic think tank in Washington, D.C.Brooks sees two competing visions for America’s future. To him, our excessive government spending and regulations have pushed us near a tipping point,...

Interview with F. A. Hayek.

The question of the proper size and scope of government creates many rifts, even among conservatives. In this AEI debate, both Brooks and Ryan make the case for their competing visions of America. The conversation serves as a vivid reminder that even those who often agree on most things can differ on the basic question of the government's purpose.

If the government pays for you, then the government tells you what to do.

Mr O'Sullivan fails to make the basic point that, whatever form an Irish public debt restructuring might take, it would at best be only a partial solution to the country's public finance problem.