Balance The Budget

The Heritage Foundation

Why did Heritage decide to issue a plan to fix our fiscal crisis?

Congress borrows 40 cents for every dollar it spends and has pushed our national debt above $14 trillion. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are America's costliest programs. Left on autopilot, they will run up much higher costs as more people retire… and pass on trillions in debt to our kids and grandkids. The only way to reduce spending and crippling debt - saving the American Dream for future generations - is to reform the entire system.

What are the main reforms the Heritage plan makes to the economy?

We reform the federal tax system to foster economic growth, create jobs, increase take-home pay, stimulate savings, and give businesses and families more economic certainty. It gives real economic security to our seniors and those approaching retirement. Our plan fundamentally changes the health insurance tax system, in order to allow Americans better access to affordable care, more choices in the health care market and real ownership of health coverage. It eradicates wasteful programs while offering a stronger safety net for the nation's most vulnerable.

How does the Heritage plan reform federal entitlement programs?

We redesign Social Security and Medicare to truly protect seniors from poverty and improve the quality and availability of their medical care. The Heritage plan makes these programs affordable and sustainable so that future generations will actually have access to them, rather than being saddled with trillions in debt. With Medicaid, Heritage proposes remaking it into an affordable and consumer-driven health care system that gives recipients at the state level the best chance of buying and owning affordable private coverage, while allowing them to keep the plan they have now, if they so choose.

Does the Heritage plan balance the budget?

Yes. The Heritage plan balances the federal budget in the first 10 years after being implemented, without raising taxes. This is a dramatic change of course from budget plans that have been introduced by lawmakers and other policy experts.