WASHINGTON — The Concord Coalition expressed concern today that optimistic
budget projections, expected to be released in the coming week, will lead
politicians of both parties to make fiscally irresponsible choices.
WASHINGTON — The Concord Coalition expressed concern today that optimistic
budget projections, expected to be released in the coming week, will lead
politicians of both parties to make fiscally irresponsible choices.
"The Concord Coalition has long warned against spending tomorrow’s income
on today’s expenses," said Concord Coalition Executive Director Martha
Phillips. "Moreover, everyone in Washington seems to have forgotten that
budget projections become more unreliable the further out they go. The
President and Congress need to be careful not to over-commit surpluses that
may or may not materialize over a decade from now."
"Before rushing to spend the projected surpluses, the basic premise that
they will exist should be questioned. It is astounding how quickly everyone
has bought into the idea of massive surpluses over the next 15 years," said
Concord Coalition Policy Director Robert Bixby. "The President and Congress
are talking as if Uncle Sam just won a $4.4 trillion lottery. They are
dividing the winnings of a hypothetical jackpot."
A new budget projection is expected to be released on Friday by the
Congressional Budget Office. The Office of Management and Budget is
expected to release its budget projections on Monday in conjunction with
the release of the President’s fiscal year 2000 budget proposal.
Concord noted that using a 15-year time frame gives Congress and the White
House the ability to spend more of tomorrow’s dollars today. It is also
important to remember that most of the surpluses do not arrive until the
later years in the projections.
"Republicans and Democrats must focus on fixing the long-term problems
facing Social Security and Medicare," said Bixby. "Both sides should resist
the temptation to use projected surpluses as an excuse to paper over the
serious problems in these two vital programs."
