Sweeping budget reform is coming. The effect on stocks could be profound

摘要

THE GOVERNMENT Accountability Office runs two sets of numbers when forecasting the nation's long-term financial health: "baseline" and "alternative." Right now they might as well be called bad and worse. "Baseline" assumes taxes rise a bit from today's level and costs grow only slowly - and results in federal debt held by the public topping its previous record, the 1946 high of 109 percent of gross domestic product, within 25 years. "Alternative" assumes taxes and spending stay pretty much the way they are and reach the same result in less than a decade.