CSBA_20101123_财政委员会和国防.pdf

Thinking Smarter About DefenseBackgrounderThinking Smarter About DefenseNOVEMBER 2010THE FISCAL COMMISSION AND DEFENSE:STRATEGY IN AN AGE OF AUSTERITYBy Todd HarrisonWith a federal budget defi cit that exceeded$1.3 trillion in FY 2010 and a rapidly mounting national debt,the fi ndings of the Fiscal Commission established to identify ways to balance the budget have been much anticipated.Tackling the defi cit is important to restoring the governments fi scal health and the nations economic prosperity.It is also important to national security.History has demonstrated that in times of major confl ict,the fi scal might of the United States and the ability to mobilize resources on a massive level have been a source of enduring strategic advantage.But with the defi cit near record levels,the debt load rising,and interest payments on the debt consuming a greater share of the budget each year,this advantage is rapidly eroding.Unlike like many national security challenges,which can be ill-defi ned and intractable,the fi scal challenge the nation faces is relatively straightforward to solve in a technical sense.Indeed,a virtually infi nite array of solutions is possible to achieve the goal of