Fiscal Exposures: Selected Risks Facing the Federal Budget (Economic Issues, Problems and Perspectives)

Fiscal exposures may be explicit in that the federal government is legally required to pay for the commitment; alternatively, it may be implicit in that the exposure arises from expectations based on current policy or past practices. The federal governments long-term fiscal imbalances are driven on the spending side by the effects of an aging population and rising health care costs on Social Security and major federal health programs. However, GAO identified a variety of other fiscal exposures -- responsibilities, programs, and activities that may legally commit or create the expectation for future federal spending -- that vary as to source, extent of the government's legal commitment, and magnitude. This book examines selected programs that create a fiscal exposure, including the extent and estimated magnitude of the governments legal commitment; and assesses how fiscal exposures could be better recognised in the budget.