Michael A. Peterson Releases a Statement on the President’s Budget
“By putting Social Security and health care reforms on the table, President Obama’s budget opens the door to fresh discussions about a comprehensive long-term plan that finally gets America’s fiscal house in order.
“Now that we have budgets from the House, the Senate and the Administration, it is in the best interests of the country for Democrats and Republicans to re-double their efforts to overcome their differences.
“The goal of any sustainable fiscal policy is to stabilize debt as a share of the economy and put it on a downward path. While the inclusion of these reforms is an important step, additional reforms beyond the measures in the President’s budget will be needed to stabilize the debt over the long term.
“It’s time to set ideology aside and make the tough choices to solve our fiscal challenges to build confidence and lay a strong foundation for future prosperity.”
Further Reading
The Federal Government Has Borrowed Trillions. Who Owns All that Debt?
Most federal debt is owed to domestic holders, but foreign ownership is much higher now than it was about 50 years ago.
No Tax on Social Security Would Weaken Both Social Security and Medicare
Republicans in Congress are considering several new tax cuts that would reduce federal revenues by trillions of dollars over the next decade.
The United States Spends More on Defense than the Next 9 Countries Combined
Defense spending by the United States accounted for nearly 40 percent of military expenditures by countries around the world in 2023.