vailsymposium

Cindy Engles generously underwrites the summer season of programming
Special thanks to Dale Mosier for his help in curating this program

The news has been filled with inflation, debt ceiling, debt crisis, fiscal issues and more on financial matters. This program will allow experts to discuss some of the issues related to our current and future debt. October 1 is the beginning of the 2024 federal fiscal year; the panel believes that there will not be an approved 2024 budget by the time of our discussion.  How does that happen and what does it mean to the federal government and the economy?

In order to understand the numbers and possibilities, it is important to understand how the budgeting process works and how it relates to legal guidelines. Is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast really what the members of the CBO individually think will be happening five or ten years in the future?

The panel will discuss the current debt status, forecasts of 5-10 years and long term debt. What drives those forecasts and what are the options if we decide at some time that the debt cannot increase any further, or at least no more than GDP growth?