... Josh Gordon, policy director for the nonpartisan Concord Coalition, notes that adhering to a strict 10-year deficit reduction goal is less important than the policies put in place to achieve it -- a point that CRFB also makes.

"One could easily envision a deficit-reduction package that falls short of debt stabilization ... but is still more fiscally responsible than a package that would lower the debt-to-GDP ratio [within 10 years]," Gordon wrote in a recent blog post.