Deficit Reduction: Spending & Revenue Options

The choices facing the 112th Congress come at a time when the federal government’s debt has increased dramatically in the past few years and when large annual budget deficits are projected to continue indefinitely under current laws or policies. Beyond the coming decade, the ageing of the U.S. population and rising health care costs will put increasing pressure on the budget. If federal debt continues to expand faster than the economy, as it has since 2007, the growth of people’s income will slow, the share of federal spending devoted to paying interest on the debt will rise more quickly, and the risk of a fiscal crisis will increase. This book examines options that would reduce projected budget deficits covering an array of policy areas from defence to energy, to entitlement programs, to provisions of the tax code.