Marc K. Fudge, CSUSB professor of public administration, has co-authored a new book, “Improving Equity through Fiscal Policy: Dashed Dreams,” offering a timely and unflinching examination of how public budgeting and finance shape equity in the United States.

Written with world-renowned author and lecturer Marc Holzer, the book explores how resource allocation decisions impact historically underserved communities — and why equity must be central to modern public policy.

“Improving Equity through Fiscal Policy: Dashed Dreams” analyzes core topics commonly taught in public budgeting, finance and policy courses, including taxation, public choice and political economics, but through an equity-centered lens. The authors trace the development of U.S. public policies over time, revealing how many were designed to restrict or suppress opportunities for Black Americans and other people of color.

The result is a timely supplement for public budgeting and finance courses, encouraging readers to recognize and reckon with the persistence of deep disparities — and the ways in which contemporary public budgeting cannot be understood without considering equity.