Solutions Initiative 2019

Fiscal sustainability is critical to meeting our nation’s aspirations and challenges over the long term. However, our national debt is at $22 trillion and growing rapidly. The key drivers of our fiscal imbalance are well known: our population is aging, healthcare costs are rising, interest payments are mounting, and revenues are inadequate to fund what we’ve promised. Not only have our leaders failed to address those structural drivers of our debt, but they have added trillions of dollars to the problem in recent years through fiscally irresponsible tax and spending legislation.

The Solutions Initiative brings together leading policy organizations from across the political spectrum to put forward comprehensive plans to put America on a stronger, more sustainable fiscal path. The Peterson Foundation asked experts from seven leading organizations — the American Action Forum, the American Enterprise Institute, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Center for American Progress, the Economic Policy Institute, the Manhattan Institute, and the Progressive Policy Institute — to develop specific policy proposals and recommendations to address our fiscal situation and meet their policy priorities for the next 30 years. Those proposals were presented as part of the 2019 Fiscal Summit: Building America’s Future.

The good news is that many solutions exist. The Solutions Initiative demonstrates that there are many ways we can build a stronger future for America. The wide-ranging policy options and recommendations presented here can inform the national conversation, helping Americans and their leaders assess and prioritize solutions to our fiscal challenges. Proactively addressing our fiscal future will lead to a better course for America with less debt, stronger economic growth, broader prosperity, and enhanced economic opportunity.

INDIVIDUAL PLANS