Peter Orszag

“The single most important thing we can do to reduce the long-term deficit is to get a grip on rising health-care costs.”

“There's a big difference between a bubble and a Ponzi scheme.”

“The retirement of the baby boom generation is the leading edge of a tidal wave of demographic change.”

“Productivity growth is the single most important determinant of our long-term economic well-being.”

“The path we are on is not sustainable, and the sooner we act, the better.”

“Information is the lifeblood of a functioning democracy.”

“We have a health care system that is generating cost increases that are simply unsustainable.”

“We need to move from a system that pays for volume to a system that pays for value in health care.”

“The current trajectory of federal debt is unsustainable.”

“If you're going to have a CBO, you may as well have a credible one.”

“Evidence-based policy is a concept whose time has come.”

“A key lesson from the crisis is the need for stronger financial regulation.”

“The truth is that the United States is a low-tax country.”

“The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.”

“The fiscal challenge facing the country is not a problem of the next couple of years; it is a problem of the next couple of decades.”

“Tax expenditures are essentially spending programs that are run through the tax code.”

“We need to get serious about the long-term fiscal gap. The longer we wait, the more painful the choices will be.”