This country is desperately in need of facts. That was the overwhelming message I took away from two exciting things that happened last week. First, there was a national conference for No Labels. The second event was at the New York Public Library, where I spoke about A People's Guide to the Federal Budget.

I used to be oblivious to the inner workings of my pay stub, and how the taxes I pay are used by the federal government. As a recent high school graduate, working two jobs and preparing for college, reading A People’s Guide to the Federal Budget has been a real eye-opener. As I prepare to vote for the first time this fall, and enter into college as a political science major, I am more aware of how seemingly concrete numbers can be twisted around to aid different points of view.

What kind of country do you want to live in? That's a question I'll be asking Colorado residents on Sept. 4th and 5th when I have the honor of speaking at the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver and the Boulder Book Store in downtown Boulder. We'll be talking about A People's Guide to the Federal Budget and how our elected officials are faced with decisions that will shape this country for years to come.

We just discovered that the book-sharing site GoodReads has some great discussion about A People's Guide to the Federal Budget. Wrote a young person by the name of Chris Byron: This is the type of book that puts college text books to shame. Studying the federal budget, the tax system, tax rates, could take three-four months and require testing. Or, from now on, the reader can buy this book.

Bob Dylan once said, "Money don't talk, it swears!" While it's easy to curse the budgetary decisions made by lawmakers, we often don’t realize how incredibly complicated the process is. I've been reading A People's Guide to the Federal Budget...