Bartley argues that the economic boom of the 1980s was not a period of greed and excess that contained the seeds of the long-term decline and social problems that many commentators say will bedevil the USA into the next century. He argues that by keeping faith with Reaganomics, further reducing taxes and encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit a sustained period of economic expansion can be achieved. Bartley attributes the current difficulties to a refusal to come to terms with the need for economic change and a misguided adherence to Keynsian economics which, he argues, are not relevant to the 1990s. He argues that cowardice and greed have caused the economy to falter, and denies that the massive budget deficit is a symptom of a deep economic malaise. A return to the policies of the 1980s would, in his view, create record levels of prosperity.