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The Case Against Intergenerational Accounting: The Accounting Campaign Against Social Security and Medicare

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  • James K. Galbraith
  • L. Randall Wray
  • Warren Mosler

Abstract

The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) has proposed subjecting the entire federal budget to "intergenerational accounting"--which purports to calculate the debt burden our generation will leave for future generations--and is soliciting comments on the recommendations of its two "exposure drafts." The authors of this brief find that intergenerational accounting is a deeply flawed and unsound concept that should play no role in federal government budgeting, and that arguments based on this concept do not support a case for cutting Social Security or Medicare. The FASAB exposure drafts have not made a persuasive argument about basic matters of accounting, say the authors. Federal budget accounting should not follow the same procedures adopted by households or business firms because the government operates in the public interest, with the power to tax and issue money. There is no evidence, nor any economic theory, behind the proposition that government spending needs to match receipts. Social Security and Medicare spending need not be politically constrained by tax receipts--there cannot be any "underfunding." What matters is the overall fiscal stance of the government, not the stance attributed to one part of the budget.

Suggested Citation

  • James K. Galbraith & L. Randall Wray & Warren Mosler, 2009. "The Case Against Intergenerational Accounting: The Accounting Campaign Against Social Security and Medicare," Economics Public Policy Brief Archive ppb_98, Levy Economics Institute.
  • Handle: RePEc:lev:levppb:ppb_98
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    Cited by:

    1. L. Randall Wray, 2010. "Minsky, the Global Money-Manager Crisis, and the Return of Big Government," Chapters, in: Steven Kates (ed.), Macroeconomic Theory and its Failings, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Jan Kregel, 2009. "It's That 'Vision' Thing: Why the Bailouts Aren't Working, and Why a New Financial System Is Needed," Economics Public Policy Brief Archive ppb_100, Levy Economics Institute.
    3. Steven Kates (ed.), 2010. "Macroeconomic Theory and its Failings," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13728.
    4. Maria Teresa Medeiros Garcia, 2017. "Overview of the Portuguese Three Pillar Pension System," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 23(2), pages 175-189, May.
    5. L. Randall Wray, 2017. "Why the Compulsive Shift to Single Payer? Because Healthcare Is Not Insurable," Economics Policy Note Archive 17-3, Levy Economics Institute.

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