View Research by Author - William Galston

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Two former directors of the Congressional Budget Office now at the Urban Institute join scholars from other organizations in a memo advising President Obama on how to balance the nation’s short- and long-term economic needs. To reduce escalating future deficits without endangering near-term recovery, the authors’ recommendations include action to stem the growth of Social Security and Medicare.

The authors of this paper—longtime federal budget and policy experts—were drawn together by a deep concern about the nation's long-term fiscal outlook. Despite diverse philosophies and political leanings, they found solid common ground and agree that unsustainable deficits in the federal budget threaten the health and vigor of the American economy and the first step toward establishing budget responsibility is to reform the budget decision process so that the major drivers of escalating deficits—Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—are no longer on autopilot. The paper provides specific policy recommendations and outlines the reasons action is critical.

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