Fiscal Responsibility is the mantra of The Concord Coalition because we believe it is essential for the economic well-being of our country today and especially in the future.

Long-term projections from nonpartisan government analysts at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) show that current federal budget policies are unsustainable. The bottom line is stark. Unless we change course, widening federal deficits will eventually starve the economy of critical savings and shortchange investments for our children's future well being. No country can enjoy sustained living standard growth without investing, and no country can sustain high investment for long without saving.

The problem with deficits is that they soak up national savings and crowd out productive investment. Since America's savings pool is shallow, the impact of large deficits is especially harmful. The U.S. net national savings rate is already low both relative to other developed nations and to our own history. Current fiscal policies are due to push net national savings still lower, ultimately driving it beneath zero. Let's hope that we don't have to suffer a fiscal and economic crack up before changing direction.

The time to act is now, while people still have time to adjust and prepare--not ten years from now, when the trade-offs will be all the more painful. This is the last decade before the age wave rolls over the budget. Our elected leaders should make sure it's not a lost decade.