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A Series

25 Fiscal Lessons

Learned over the course of 25 years, paving the way toward a better economic future.

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Events

Celebrating Around the Country
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Celebrating 25 Years of Grassroots Fiscal Policy Activism

Throughout the year, The Concord Coalition will be celebrating our 25th Anniversary. We will be drawing on our history of policy analysis, education, and grassroots engagement to help promote fiscal responsibility and pave the way forward for a better economic future.

Blog Post

25 Years, 25 Lessons on Fiscal Reform

Thursday, July 06, 2017

The Concord Coalition is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. From the beginning, we have been more than “deficit hawks” with an eye only for balanced budgets. Rather, our focus has always been - and remains - achieving federal budget policies that are sustainable over the long term. We believe that this is an economic imperative and a matter of generational responsibility.

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25 Lessons Learned for our Fiscal Future

  1. Fiscal Policy Remains Unsustainable
  2. Demographics Drive Our Long-term Fiscal Challenges
  3. Popular Options, Like Cutting Waste, Fraud and Abuse or Growing Our Way Out of Debt, Are Not Enough
  4. The Independence and Credibility of the CBO Are Essential
  5. The American People, if Presented with Credible and Understandable Information, Can Make Tough Fiscal Policy Trade-offs
  6. Making Health Care Programs Sustainable Depends on Controlling Costs
  7. Doing Nothing Is Not a Plan to Fix Social Security
  8. Trust Fund Accounting Obscures Fiscal Problems of Social Security and Medicare
  9. It’s Important to Distinguish Between Short-Term Cyclical Deficits and Long-Term Structural Deficits
  10. Bipartisan Policy Changes Can Put the Debt on a Downward Trajectory
  11. It's Easier to Correct Overshooting on Deficit Reduction Than Undershooting
  12. A Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution is Not Necessary for Responsible Fiscal Policy
  13. Tax Cuts Don't Pay for Themselves
  14. The Debt Limit is More Trouble Than It’s Worth
  15. Mandatory Spending Growth Means the Budget Debate is Increasingly Focused on a Shrinking Part of the Budget
  16. The Broken Budget Process Should Be Refocused on Long-Term Planning
  17. Expressions of Concern About the Deficit Are Not Always What They Seem
  18. ‘Tax Expenditures’ Should Be Considered Large Spending Programs
  19. PAYGO is an Important Standard
  20. Both Sides are Guilty of Budget Gimmicks
  21. Changes in Borrowing Costs Can Have a Dramatic Impact on the Federal Budget
  22. Entitlement Reform Should Reduce Subsidies for Those Who Don't Need Them
  23. Budget Process Changes or Trigger Mechanisms Can Not Substitute for Political Will
  24. Sequestration is a Bad Way to Make Budget Cuts
  25. Everything Needs To Be On the Table in Budget Negotiations

Anniversary Events

Blog Post

25 Years of Fiscal Policy Education, and a Look at Future Challenges

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

At a public forum last week in New Hampshire, former U.S. senators Judd Gregg and Kent Conrad warned of difficult federal budget decisions ahead and urged elected officials to pursue more sustainable fiscal policy solutions.

Gregg, a Republican from New Hampshire, and Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota, participated in a public forum at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College on Oct. 12 in Manchester. The event was one of several this year marking The Concord Coalition’s 25th anniversary.

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Celebrating our 25th in New Hamphire Event Review Watch the Event

Former Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) joined The Concord Coalition at the Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, for a discussion on fiscal policy in honor of Concord's 25th Anniversary.

Blog Post

Marking 25 Years of Fighting for Fiscal Reform

Tuesday, October 03, 2017

Concord Coalition supporters gathered to celebrate 25 years of fiscal responsibility education and advocacy at the historical Colonial Inn on Sept. 25 in Concord, Mass. At a lunch four speakers discussed Concord’s achievements, lessons learned over the past 25 years, and the fiscal policy challenges facing our nation.

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25th Anniversary Panel in Concord Event Review Watch the Event

Congresswoman Nikki Tsongas, wife of The Concord Coalition's co-founder, Paul Tsongas, joined us at the Colonial Inn in Concord, Massachusetts for a celebration of the Concord Coalition. An expert panel with Doug Elmendorf, dean of the Harvard Kennedy School and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, Scot Lehigh, columnist for the Boston Globe, and Concord's executive director Robert Bixby, discussed current budget issues and looked forward on Concord's continuing mission.

 

 

25th Anniversary Forum Event Review Watch the Event

"Budget Chaos in Context." Policy Experts gathered at the National Press Club in Washington, DC to discuss lessons learned and how to improve the fiscal future.