Our Unsustainable Budget Situation

By: Maya MacGuineas, MPP, President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and Director of the Fiscal Policy Program, New America Foundation

The U.S. federal debt is exploding to levels not seen since World War II, and some say this threatens our living standards, compromises our independence in domestic and foreign policy, and leaves future generations with a staggering financial burden. In this essay, Maya MacGuineas reviews the budget projections and comments on Administration proposals for addressing the fiscal crisis. She also describes a new set of recommendations from the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform calling for immediate and bold steps designed to stabilize our federal debt at 60 percent of GDP by 2018.