The Federal Debt Debate: Ballooning Threat or Manageable Lifeline? - Jason Furman

November 12, 2020, Video: "The next administration and Congress will face a large and growing federal debt. Although everyone recognizes the long-term imbalance between federal spending and revenues, there is ample debate about just how big a problem this is, and the extent to which it should be a priority for lawmakers. Jason Furman—a Harvard Kennedy School professor and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisors—coauthored a 2019 Foreign Affairs essay that argued for accepting that the debt would grow as a share of the economy, prioritizing new investments, and maintaining full Social Security benefits over deficit reduction. For Furman, fiscal consolidations such as tax increases and spending savings should be limited to offsetting expensive new initiatives."