Fiscal Policy in an Era of Surpluses

Federal surpluses have come as a pleasant surprise, but using them to finance additional government spending would be disastrous. By the middle of the next decade, Social Security and Medicare outlays will soar beyond projected payroll taxes. While using the surpluses to offset future entitlement payments is a good idea, finding a way to do it is not so easy. This Commentary suggests it could be accomplished by paying down the national debt and combining the remaining surplus with Social Security reform.