Although Congress has plenty of serious budget work to do, lawmakers in both parties can’t seem to resist frittering away time and confusing the public with various proposals that serve no useful purpose. Last week offered a couple good examples.

Most plans to put the federal budget on a more sustainable path make a crucial assumption: That today’s younger workers will pay more of their own retirement costs than previous generations have.

By setting aside more money for retirement, the thinking goes, these younger workers can enable the federal government to reduce the high projected growth of Social Security and Medicare. They should theoretically be able to do this because they have more time to save large amounts of money and to let those savings compound.

Who says deficit hawks have to be pessimistic?

This week The Concord Coalition and several other organizations kicked off an initiative called Strengthening of America – Our Children’s Future focused on the nation's worsening fiscal situation. Former Senators Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), Warren Rudman (R-N.H.) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) have convened a bipartisan group of former members of Congress for a series of forums in the weeks leading up to the presidential debates. Nunn and Rudman are Concord’s

Here are links to some previously published material by The Concord Coalition on proposals by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, who was named Saturday as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's running mate.

Congressional procrastination could lead to chaotic decision-making on the federal budget after the November elections, but many economists believe this procrastination is already harming the economy.

The damage stems from widespread uncertainty over what elected officials will do, if anything, about the “fiscal cliff” – a combination of sharp “automatic” spending cuts and the scheduled expiration of tax cuts at year’s end.

Rep. Steven LaTourette’s announcement this week that he will not seek re-election underscores the difficulties that face elected officials who try to take a constructive, bipartisan approach to dealing with the nation’s most important challenges – notably the need for fundamental fiscal reforms.

The severe fiscal, financial and economic difficulties in Europe underscore the need for Washington to develop credible plans for comprehensive, long-term fiscal reforms -- in part because spillover problems from Europe could well aggravate U.S. budget challenges.

But Europe’s experience also cautions against excessive austerity measures that can turn a weak recovery into another recession. “These are critical times,” says Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, “and we’ve got to be smart about how we get back on track.”

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If Congress were to simply follow the budget path laid out in current law, the federal government might escape some of its widely anticipated fiscal problems over the next few years. But that is a big “if,” as became clear Friday at a forum at the University of New Hampshire School of Law.

In the keynote speech, Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, said he was more optimistic than many economists about the nation’s prospects and the likelihood that Washington would move the country onto a more sustainable track.

The Concord Coalition this week recognized Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) for their leadership of the "Gang of Six" in the search for bipartisan fiscal reform. 

Former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), a member of Concord's board of directors,  presented Chambliss and Warner with the 2011 Paul E. Tsongas Economic Patriot Award at the organization’s annual dinner Wednesday night in Washington.