For the eighth year in a row, the Department of Defense (DoD) failed to receive a clean audit — a requirement under the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990, which mandates annual independent audits to strengthen accountability and public…
Policy Features of Social Security That Drive Its Long‑Term Costs Social Security’s financial challenges are often framed as the inevitable result of an aging population. Demographics matter, but policy choices built into the design of the program also impact costs.…
Social Security’s financial challenges are well‑documented, but two recent policy changes have quietly made the program’s long‑term outlook even more difficult. While each was enacted with specific goals in mind, both either reduce revenue or increase costs at a time…
Many people think of Social Security as a system where you simply get back roughly the amount of money you put in during your working years. But Social Security was never designed that way. Instead, it operates primarily as a…
It’s easy to get excited about cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in government. After all, who doesn’t want a more efficient, effective government that spends our tax dollars wisely? But as much as trimming the fat sounds like a straightforward…
Tax season is here, and the IRS is preparing for roughly 164 million individual filings. Yet just as the workload peaks, the agency is facing major funding cuts that will weaken its ability to collect revenue, enforce tax laws, and…
Concord Action welcomes a variety of viewpoints on issues related to the long-term fiscal health of the nation. The following guest essay is written by Kurt Couchman, who is senior fellow in fiscal policy at Americans for Prosperity and the…
America’s $38 trillion national debt is no longer a distant concern—it’s a clear and present danger. Interest payments alone now eclipse what we spend on national defense, devouring nearly 20% of every tax dollar. This debt load is choking our…
The United States is entering a period of rising global tension at the same time our fiscal capacity is shrinking. Military operations carry immediate costs, long-term obligations, and significant tradeoffs across the federal budget. Troops that are sent into combat…
The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is more than a legal setback for the administration. It is a hit to the nation’s fiscal outlook, one that directly affects the…
Every year, the federal government is supposed to pass a budget before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. A fiscal year is simply the government’s 12‑month accounting period—running from October 1 to September 30—so Congress must approve funding…
The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036 delivers a stark message: federal budget deficits are projected to keep rising, pushing the national debt to unprecedented levels. Even with steady economic growth, the government is expected…
