U.S. Budget Deficit

On Topic

The U.S. federal budget deficit continues to be a concern as weak economic growth and stagnant unemployment numbers decrease revenue. As the federal government prepares for budget cuts, Congress is debating how to create fiscal balance and whether the impending sequestration will damage the fragile economic recovery. Experts from Brookings explore common ground in the effort to achieve greater fiscal responsibility.

A long line of passengers wait for security at checkpoint before boarding their aircraft at Reagan National Airport in Washington (REUTERS/Larry Downing).

Opinion

How to Avoid Another FAA Fiasco

May 8, 2013, Clifford Winston

The United States will experience more costly disruptions to its transportation system, such as the recent air traffic control cuts unless its deficits are curbed by efficient policy reforms or by privatization, writes Clifford Winston.

Recent Activity

Refine by: The Federal Budget and Sequestration | U.S. Economic Performance | Fiscal Policy | Taxes

In the News

When budget cuts hit high-profile business travelers, you can get Congress to act.
April 30, 2013, Darrell M. West, Bloomberg
Interview | NPR

As 'Devastating' as Sequester is, not 'Immediate Catastrophe'

March 3, 2013, Thomas E. Mann
In the News

What has a chance of going somewhere if the president and the Congress can get back together is some version of a grand bargain, and a grand bargain means we have to slow the growth of the entitlements, especially Medicare and Medicaid. We have to put Social Security back on a firm foundation. And we have to reform our tax code so it raises some more revenue. We need to do that and stop fooling around with this counterproductive thing called the sequester, which is bad macro policy, it would reduce employment when we don't want to.
February 23, 2013, Alice M. Rivlin, CNN
Podcast

Real Specifics: 15 Ways to Rethink the Federal Budget

February 20, 2013, Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney
In the News

Don’t hold your breath [on Obama seriously tackling entitlement reform]. He has every reason to sit tight and play to his base. The American public is very much on his side.
February 11, 2013, Ron Haskins, The Daily Beast
In the News

[Obama's tone of his ’08 campaign] hasn’t worked very well, but this is the moment to go back to it, because if he doesn’t, he dooms the rest of his term to squabbling with the Republicans.
February 11, 2013, Alice M. Rivlin, The Daily Beast
In the News

The steps that I think are most promising are really about changing payment methods to reward providers for better health outcomes.
January 21, 2013, Mark B. McClellan, Financial Times
In the News

In watching Congress for more than 40 years I've never seen such a total mess. We really are entering the worst of all worlds. The result is awful. The process is a disgrace. The Democratic and Republican leaders are talking at each other, not with each other. And we have a president who doesn't want to lead on fiscal matters. I don't see how this ends well.
January 15, 2013, Bill Frenzel, MNI
In the News

[The fiscal cliff negotiations are] very bad for the economy and for our image in the world. We don't look like a country in charge of its own destiny. That's hard to quantify but it's bad.
January 2, 2013, Alice M. Rivlin, Reuters
Interview | Bloomberg TV

United States Must Invest in Infrastructure

December 7, 2012, Bruce Katz