Generational Equity and Sustainability in U.S. Fiscal Policy

Policymakers’ budget perspectives show a puzzling dichotomy. Their projections and plans for the general budget seem to extend only five years out, but President Clinton’s recent proposal for Social Security—that future budget surpluses be “reserved” until the program’s solvency is restored—suggests a much longer perspective. After all, the official figures of the Social Security Administration (SSA) indicate that the program will not go bankrupt under current law until the year 2032.