1. Stabilizing Future Fiscal Policy: It's Time to Pull the Trigger
- Author:
- C. Eugene Steuerle and Rudolph G. Penner
- Publication Date:
- 08-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- Fiscal policy is simply out of control. It's not the deficit per se, however—we have had deficits before. Usually, they could be easily contained in subsequent years simply by allowing revenues to grow as the economy expanded while enacting only small or no increases in appropriations for discretionary programs, most of which were newly funded every year. But discretionary programs now constitute less than 40 percent of spending, whereas they were almost 70 percent of spending in 1962. In fiscal year 2006, mandatory spending and interest made up 62 percent of spending.
- Topic:
- Economics and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States