We cannot expect our economy to  1  See Ben S. Bernanke (2011), “Fiscal Sustainability”, speech delivered at the Annual Conference of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Washington, June 14. BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  grow its way out of our fiscal imbalances, but a more productive economy will ease the tradeoffs that we face.
Finally, and perhaps most challenging, the country would be well served by a better process for making fiscal decisions.