Long-term Fiscal Challenges Demand New Metrics, Mechanisms, and Processes

Accounting and reporting policies for trust funds, Social Security, Medicare, Veterans benefits, among other things, need to be reviewed and revised.
The current budget time horizon [2-year, 5-year, 10-year] does not capture many long-term costs—e.g. Social Security, Medicare, pension insurance—and other major tax and spending provisions
Cash and obligations-based budgeting is misleading for insurance and some benefit programs
Budget controls have expired—and we need to go beyond “holding the line” to “changing the base” in spending and tax policies

Accounting and reporting policies for trust funds, Social Security, Medicare, Veterans benefits, among other things, need to be reviewed and revised.