This paper discusses the report of the 1994 Quadrennial Advisory Council on Social Security, of which the author was chair. The system is out of long-term actuarial balance and, as a maturing defined benefit pay-as-you-go system, is giving younger cohorts ever lower returns on their payroll...

More than two decades ago the Brookings Institution first published a book with the title of this lecture. The idea behind the book was straightforward—rather than being led by events, or falling into the trap of incremental budgeting, budgetary planners should try to set priorities. They...