Getting Congress to Fix U.S.'s Growing Fiscal Problem

The General Accountability Office (GAO) delivered a dose of bad news just before Tax Day. “The federal government's current fiscal path is unsustainable,” warns the government's accountants. Among other gloomy tidings, within about 15 years publicly held debt will soar beyond its all-time high of 106% of GDP, seen at the end of World War II. That is more than double the average since 1946. Meanwhile, GAO forecasts, the Medicare hospital trust fund will be depleted by 2026, and by 2034 so will Social Security's trust fund. Those programs' trusteessound a similar alarm. By law, this will force a major cut in benefits.