HKS Authors

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Abstract

For now, and in the foreseeable future, fiscal adjustment is a political non-starter in the US, where the prospect of higher taxes or cuts to Social Security and Medicare is a surefire way to lose votes. But this is probably where the country is headed, though it may take a severe fiscal crisis to get there.

Citation

Frankel, Jeffrey. "What Will the US Debt Reckoning Look Like?" Project Syndicate, November 28, 2025.