Concord Coalition Paper Discusses Europe's Debt Crisis and Its Potential Impacts on the U.S. Economy and Fiscal Policy

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The European debt crisis presents fundamental concerns for the United States, ranging from immediate spillover effects on the American economic recovery to the potential impact on efforts to put the federal budget on a more responsible long-term course.

These concerns are explored in a paper released today by The Concord Coalition entitled "Not Just Their Problem: Europe's Debt Crisis and U.S. Fiscal Policy." The authors are Edmund L. Andrews, former New York Times economics correspondent in Washington and Europe; Joseph J. Minarik, senior vice president and director of research at the Committee for Economic Development (CED), and Diane Lim Rogers, Concord's chief economist.

"The biggest fiscal danger from Europe comes through the interconnectedness of our economies," the paper says, noting that exports are now a major source of American economic growth. "A prolonged European economic slump even without defaults or exits from the Euro could hurt longer-term U.S. growth and aggravate what is already an unsustainable trend in the federal budget."

The paper says the United States can learn from the struggles of European countries to find the right balance between short-term support for their economies with the need for credible commitments to reduce budget deficits and encourage long-term growth. The authors call on elected officials in Washington to move forward on America's own fiscal challenges to "demonstrate that we are not headed down the same path as the most problematic European countries."

The full paper is available here. 

It is being released in conjunction with a Washington forum, presented this morning by CED and Concord,  on the eurozone crisis and its consequences.

The Concord Coalition is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to fiscal responsibility. Former U.S. Senators Warren B. Rudman (R-NH) and Sam Nunn (D-GA) serve as Concord's co-chairs.

SOURCE The Concord Coalition