Hard choices for the federal budget as long-term difficulties approach

The Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to balanced federal budgets and generationally responsible fiscal policy, states in its latest press release that President Bush's 2009 Budget Proposal is not realistic for the short or long term. Although he is planning to create a surplus in the federal budget in 2012, he assumes several factors that are likely not to happen:

1. A revenue windfall from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

2. A sudden drop in new funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (from nearly $200 billion in 2008 to zero in 2010)

3. Substantial programmed cuts in Medicare physician payments, and

4. Annual reductions in non-security appropriations beyond 2009

In addition to "pay-as-you-go", the Concord Coalition in this press release offers a couple of other things that can be done in a bi-partisan matter immediately to ease budget concerns.