United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Accounting and Information Management Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1995-04-26 monographic deposited born digital 34 p. GA 1.13:AIMD/OCE-95-119 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-OCE-95-119 P0b002ee180386924 f:ai95119 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-AIMD-OCE-95-119 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-AIMD-OCE-95-119 AIMD/OCE-95-119 Deficit reduction Budget cuts Fiscal policies Economic analysis Balanced budgets Economic growth Budget deficit Budget surplus Econometric modeling Future budget projections Social Security Program Medicare Program Medicaid Program Other Written Product AIMD This report updates a 1992 GAO study (GAO/OCG-92-2) on the long-term economic impact of the deficit, which concluded that deficit reduction was the key to America's long-term economic health. GAO noted that a path of inaction could not be sustained over the long run. If policymakers failed to take the initiatives, the economic consequences would force action. GAO identified three forces driving the long-term growth of budget deficits: health spending, interest costs, and--after 2010--Social Security. In its current report, GAO uses a long-term economic growth model to simulate three possible fiscal paths through the year 2025: (1) no action on the deficit; (2) "muddling through" with deficits at three percent of gross domestic product, roughly approximating deficits of recent years; and (3) reaching a balanced budget in 2002 and sustaining it. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-OCE-95-119/html/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-OCE-95-119.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-OCE-95-119/pdf/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-OCE-95-119.pdf GAO/AIMD/OCE-95-119 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-OCE-95-119 Other Written Product GAO/AIMD/OCE-95-119; The Deficit and the Economy: An Update of Long-Term Simulations; Deficit reduction Budget cuts Fiscal policies Economic analysis Balanced budgets Economic growth Budget deficit Budget surplus Econometric modeling Future budget projections Social Security Program Medicare Program Medicaid Program