When you look at the ballooning federal deficit, says President Bush’s chief economic advisor Gregory Mankiw, you’ve got to keep it “in proper perspective.” Economic growth will accelerate, he says. Fiscal discipline can staunch the red ink. And the Bush Administration is taking all the right steps to counter the repercussions of the tech bubble burst, corporate governance scandals, Sept. 11. and two wars in the Middle East.

But on main streets across the country, Americans are still skittish. The job market hasn’t picked up with the rest of the economy. Unemployment still sits at more than 6 percent and the long-term fate of a debt-burdened economy has alarm bells ringing.

Click the “Listen” link to hear about the state of the U.S. economy today, the fate of American jobs, the deficit, social security and national prosperity.

Guests:

Gregory Mankiw, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers. He is on leave from Harvard University where he is a professor of economics. He is author of two popular textbooks, “Macroeconomics” and “Principles of Economics.”