“Steering Clear” by Peter G. Peterson
At 89, Peterson has had a long and storied career, which includes stints as US secretary of commerce, chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers, and cofounder of private-equity firm Blackstone Group.
He’s also the founder and chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which focuses on raising awareness about fiscal challenges that the US faces.
In “Steering Clear,” published in 2015, Peterson makes the case that we need to take immediate action to reduce long-term debt in the US, projected to hit record highs in the near future. He juxtaposes prose with charts and graphs that illustrate the issue, and offers potential solutions to the problem, including closing loopholes in the tax code.
In the book’s introduction, Peterson explains why addressing this issue isn’t just economic good sense: “This country has given my family and me — and millions of others — unequaled opportunities to dream and to prosper. And together we have a profound obligation to try to pass on the same opportunity to future generations.”