Research Report: The Federal Budget Deficit and the Public Debt—Dealing with a Lurking Problem

In this report, CED warns that the nation’s fiscal imbalance is building to become a critical threat to US world leadership and prosperity at some unpredictable date in the not-too-distant future. It views the debt not as a certain and predictable catastrophe ahead but a growing risk—unless lawmakers resolve to make a significant change in US policy. Otherwise, that risk could grow to the point where serious ill effects are inevitable. In the report, CED urges policy makers to consider the facts and resolve—in a thoughtful but timely manner—to turn this seemingly unending and inexorable trend around.