Thus, they measure the fiscal burden under the assumption that current tax policy is continued, Social Security benefits are not curtailed, and Medicare spending continues to rise with health costs.2 The information provided by generational accounts and other similar methods would definitely be valuable, but their computational methods seem too complicated and rely too much on assumptions about future variables to make them a viable alternative to the current deficit as the main benchmark of fiscal policy.
Moreover, much useful information about the future implications of current policy is already provided by the Office of Management and Budget and the CBO, both in their official five- and ten-year budget projections and in their longer-run projections.