Zvi and Bob interview Eugene Steuerle, a highly noted economist and expert on budget, tax, and social benefit programs.  Gene is an Institute Fellow and Richard B. Fisher Chair at the Urban Institute. He has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Analysis (1987-1989), President of the National Tax Association (2001-2002), and co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.   He is the author of 18 books and over 1,000 articles.  He discusses how he became an economist, people who influenced his career, and disturbing trends in patterns of federal spending and budget deficits.