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Fiscal and generational imbalances: new budget measures for new budget priorities

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Author Info
Jagadeesh Gokhale
Kent Smetters

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Abstract

This paper describes the deficiencies of the measures used to calculate the federal budget, make revenue and spending projections, and assess the sustainability of current fiscal policies. The nature of the deficiencies hides the tremendous impact that Social Security and Medicare commitments will have on the budget in the future, given the way the programs are structured currently and the momentous demographic shift underway as the baby boom generation approaches retirement age. This paper proposes two new simple measures that will enable government officials and the public to calculate more accurately the costs of maintaining these programs into the relevant future. The measures provide a better understanding of the costs involved, when they will be incurred, and by whom.

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File URL: http://www.clevelandfed.org/Research/PolicyDis/no5dec03.pdf
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland in its journal Policy Discussion Papers.

Volume (Year): (2003)
Issue (Month): Dec ()
Pages:
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedcpd:y:2003:i:dec:n:5

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Related research
Keywords: Budget ; Fiscal policy;

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Kent Smetters, 2003. "Is the Social Security Trust Fund Worth Anything?," NBER Working Papers 9845, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 2001. "Generational Policy," NBER Working Papers 8163, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
    • Kotlikoff, Laurence J., 2002. "Generational policy," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 27, pages 1873-1932 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Peter Diamond, 2004. "Social Security," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 1-24, March. [Downloadable!]
  4. Julie Lee & Mark McClellan & Jonathan Skinner, 1999. "The Distributional Effects of Medicare," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, volume 13, pages 85-108 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Alan J. Auerbach, 2003. "Fiscal Policy, Past and Present," NBER Working Papers 10023, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Jagadeesh Gokhale & Kent Smetters, 2005. "Measuring Social Security's Financial Problems," NBER Working Papers 11060, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Christian Hagist & Norbert Klusen & Andreas Plate & Bernd Raffelhüschen, 2005. "Social Health Insurance - the Major Driver of Unsustainable Fiscal Policy?," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  4. Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 2007. "Is the U.S. Bankrupt?," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2007-015, Boston University - Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  5. Jianjun Miao & Neng Wang, 2007. "Risk, Uncertainty, and Option Exercise," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2007-016, Boston University - Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Glenn Follette & Louise Sheiner, 2005. "The sustainability of health spending growth," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2005-60, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  7. Alan J. Auerbach, 2004. "Budget Windows, Sunsets, and Fiscal Control," NBER Working Papers 10694, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Antoine Bommier & Ronald Lee & Timothy Miller & Stephane Zuber, 2004. "Who Wins and Who Loses? Public Transfer Accounts for US Generations Born 1850 to 2090," NBER Working Papers 10969, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Eric M. Engen & R. Glenn Hubbard, 2004. "Federal Government Debt and Interest Rates," NBER Working Papers 10681, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. L. Randall Wray, 2006. "The Burden Of Aging: Much Ado About Nothing, Or Little To Do About Something?," Economics Policy Note Archive 06-5, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
  11. Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 2006. "Is the United States bankrupt?," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Jul, pages 235-250. [Downloadable!]
  12. Ferhan Salman, 2004. "Balancing Turkey’s Intertemporal Budget Gap," Working Papers 0408, Research and Monetary Policy Department, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. [Downloadable!]
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