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Realistically, this summer’s budget battles in Washington may be the country’s last hope for a balanced budget. The White House, perhaps fearful that spending cuts may trigger a recession, wants to push the target year beyond 2002, the year favored by Republicans.
However, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has given assurances that he would ease monetary policy to accommodate such a fiscal contraction. And with snowballing interest payments and Medicare and Social Security outlays set to explode due to an aging population, it is imperative that we get the deficit under control now. The train has left the station, and we had better catch it before it picks up speed.
