Editorial Board
Say Yes to a Fiscal Commission
Without spending reforms, America is hurtling toward a crisis. A bipartisan panel is a good way to get started.
Not adding up.
Photographer: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call
Congress has long taken a bipartisan approach to America’s looming fiscal crisis, which is to ignore it completely. Credit the House budget committee, then, for addressing the issue squarely last week.
By any calculus, the budget outlook is grim. Deficits are expected to reach $2.7 trillion over the next decade, or 6.4% of gross domestic product. Debt held by the public will reach 115% of GDP, exceeding wartime highs. Projections by the Congressional Budget Office show no obvious relief on the horizon.