Election update: fiscal wake-up questions for candidates

From the Concord Coalition's Fiscal Wake-up page: questions for the presidential candidates.

• Do you support imposing strong budget controls, such as caps on annual spending, a "pay-as-you-go" rule for new spending and tax initiatives, and/or putting today's entitlements on a firm, long-term budget?

• What specific spending cuts, if any, do you propose  and how much of the problem would they solve? 

• What specific tax increases, if any, do you propose and how much of the problem would they solve? 

• According to the 2007 trustees' report, scheduled benefits for Social Security over the next 75 years exceed the earmarked taxes for this program by $6.8 trillion in present value. Measured as a share of the economy, Social Security will be nearly 50 percent larger by 2035. What is your vision for the future of Social Security and what strategies would you pursue to bring it about?

• Medicare poses a much bigger challenge than Social Security. According to the 2007 trustees report, Medicare's projected costs over the next 75 years exceed its earmarked taxes and premiums by $34 trillion in present value. Measured as a share of the economy, Medicare will more than double by 2035. Much of this is driven by rising health care costs rather than demographics. What is your vision for the nation's health care system, including the future of Medicare, and what strategies would you pursue to bring it about?