The Domenici/Rivlin Debt Reduction Task Force

Kathryn Nix / January 26, 2010

Today in Washington, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) launched its new Debt Reduction Task Force, chaired by former Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and former OMB director and CBO director Dr. Alice Rivlin.

The task force will aggressively address the abysmal fiscal outlook of the United States economy due to government spending. As Domenici and Rivlin displayed, the amount of debt held by the public is set to reach 100% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2019. Under the same trajectory, the debt would reach 400% of GDP by 2049. As Rivlin pointed out, however, this outlook is completely unrealistic. Far before the debt reached such gargantuan proportions, lenders would refuse to continue purchasing our debt and the United States would find itself in economic ruin.

According to Sen. Domenici, “America has the worst economic future that we have ever had.” This sentiment was echoed by former Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD), one of the founders of the BPC, who explained that following the current path, the nation could see basic needs of society pushed aside to make way for out-of-control entitlement spending. (more…)