such as those who 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches get caught up in the juvenile justice system, what effect do such experiences have on their futures as workers and consumers, and what are the most promising approaches to foster a course correction? i hope that the data and other evidence presented today and tomorrow are of use to you in your work. community development professionals attending this conference may consider how the design and implementation of their programs may be improved. policymakers may look more closely at how kids are affected — purposefully or unintentionally — by public policies. and researchers may encounter ideas that spark new work that can shed further light on these important topics. i think it is important that we better understand these issues, and i applaud you for taking the time to be here to share your knowledge and to learn. our young people are the future, and we all want them to have the support they need for successful and fulfilling lives. as a central banker, i recognize the benefits to the broader economy when more people are better prepared for work and for managing their finances. in short, ensuring that all of our kids have “ strong foundations ” will help build a similarly strong foundation for the u. s. economy. 1 board of governors of the federal reserve system ( forthcoming ), 2016 survey of household economics and decisionmaking ( washington : board of governors ). past shed surveys are available on the board's website at www. federalreserve. gov / communitydev / shed. htm, which is also where the 2016 survey will be posted when completed. 2 see note 1. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

the congress and the administration to work in good faith to quickly develop and implement a credible plan to achieve long - term sustainability. i hope, though, that such a plan can be achieved in the near term without resorting to brinksmanship or actions that would cast doubt on the creditworthiness of the united states. what would such a plan look like? clear metrics are important, together with triggers or other mechanisms to establish the credibility of the plan. for example, policymakers could commit to enacting in the near term a clear and specific plan for stabilizing the ratio of debt to gdp within the next few years and then subsequently setting that ratio on a downward path. indeed, such a trajectory for the ratio of debt to gdp is comparable to the one proposed by the national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform. 4 to make the framework more explicit, the president and congressional leadership could agree on a definite timetable some evidence that interest rates can rise in response to even a short, temporary period during which the treasury cannot make payments on a relatively small amount of maturing securities is presented by zivney and marcus ( 1989 ). see national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform ( 2010 ). bis central bankers ’ speeches for reaching decisions about both shorter - term budget adjustments and longer - term changes. fiscal policymakers could look now to find substantial savings in the 10 - year budget window, enforced by well - designed budget rules, while simultaneously undertaking additional reforms to address the long - term sustainability of entitlement programs. such a framework could include a commitment to make a down payment on fiscal consolidation by enacting legislation to reduce the structural deficit over the next several years. conclusion the task of developing and implementing sustainable fiscal policies is daunting, and it will involve many agonizing decisions and difficult tradeoffs. but meeting this challenge in a timely manner is crucial for our nation. history makes clear that failure to put our fiscal house in order will erode the vitality of our economy, reduce the standard of living in the united states, and increase the risk of economic and financial instability. references committee for a responsible federal budget ( 2010 ). the crfb medium and long - term baselines. washington : crfb, august. congressional budget office ( 2010 ). the long - term budget outlook. washington : congressional budget office, june ( revised august ). national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform ( 2010 ). the moment of truth : report of the national commission on fiscal