Political dysfunction. Partisanship at record levels. Attack politics run amok. And public approval of Congress scraping the single digits (Sen. John McCain is fond of saying it's down to blood rlatives and paid staff).

There have been repeated warnings from across the political spectrum that Medicare spending will bankrupt the country unless it is curbed. AEI's Joseph Antos and a panel of experts will discuss what it would take to overcome political and technical roadblocks to necessary action.

The plan presented here represents the collaboration of its four authors and does not reflect the position of the American Enterprise Institute or any other organization. The individual authors do not fully agree with every provision of the plan, but we join in presenting it as a way to address the fiscal imbalance while promoting economic growth.

Paul Ryan and Ron Wyden have defined the policy parameters that could be the basis for real Medicare reform in 2013.

While the House leadership has announced that Congress will not produce a budget this year, the Congressional Budget Office released their Long-Term Budget Outlook on June 30, 2010.

A special AEI event with Representative Paul Ryan on spending, stimulus, and budget will be held on the Hill at 210 Cannon House Office Building, on Thursday, July 1, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Social Security's retirement age should not be increased for anyone on the verge of retirement, but there's a good case for doing so over coming decades, as the Baby Boomers retire and the population ages.

To establish Social Security as a sustainable, solvent program, changes are necessary. A wide range of reforms have been proposed in recent years, and many of those proposals include changes both to future benefits and to payroll taxes.