With American political polarization at historical highs, Peter Orszag argues the United States needs ways around its politicians.

The United States' fiscal future depends on whether the country can limit health-care costs.

The United States' fiscal future depends on whether the country can limit health-care costs.

Despite the failure of a supercommittee deficit deal, budget expert Peter Orszag says there will still be opportunity for policies, such as more economic stimulus and cutting healthcare costs, to avert a U.S. fiscal crisis.

Cutting the federal deficit is seen as essential for reviving the country's economic standing. CFR's Peter Orszag looks at some of the pros and cons of recommendations by a presidential commission's co-chairs to cut more than $3.8 trillion from national deficits.

GOP election gains make it less likely Congress will enact needed deficit cuts and more fiscal stimulus, and the Fed's quantitative easing plan could create new bubbles, says CFR Distinguished Visiting Fellow Peter Orszag.

Peter Orszag writes that making cities more resilient to the challenges of stormwater runoff is a wise investment to minimize climate change-related damage.

Peter Orszag argues that giving health-care providers a fixed payment for each Medicare beneficiary could provide a path forward between competing views of health care reform offered by Republicans and Democrats.

Peter Orszag examines how cities could foster more public-private partnerships in infrastructure construction with revenue-based auctions.

Peter Orszag argues that switching to the chained consumer price index for calculating Social Security cost-of-living adjustments will not make as much of a difference as many seem to think.

Peter Orszag writes that the link between life expectancy and college completion is not well understood, but they appear to be related to growing income inequality.

Peter Orszag argues that low interest rates and high unemployment make today an ideal time to repair deteriorating U.S. infrastructure.

Peter Orszag writes that, although health care costs have been rising more slowly, recent data suggest Medicare spending growth may have sped up slightly in the past few months.

Peter Orszag highlights research findings that reinforce the usefulness of test scores in evaluating teacher performance.

Peter Orszag argues that widening gaps in college completion rates between rich and poor students not only undermines the American ideal of equal opportunity, but also misses an economic opportunity to boost productivity.

Peter Orszag argues that reforming medical malpractice law to include "safe harbors" that protect doctors who follow evidence-based medical guidelines could bring down health-care costs without reducing the quality of care.

Peter Orszag argues that simplifying access to financial aid can help more Americans earn college degrees, reduce inequality, and boost economic growth.

Peter Orszag finds good news about health care costs in the latest budgetary and economic projections released by the CBO, but he cautions that the outlook for unemployment and federal spending is still gloomy.

Because a financial crisis can inflict lasting damage to productivity growth, Peter Orszag argues that the failure of U.S. policymakers to enact a "barbell" fiscal policy now could yield more economic troubles down the road.

Peter Orszag explains how globalization is lowering effective corporate tax rates and making it harder for Republicans and Democrats to agree on what tax reforms are needed.

Peter Orszag argues that aggressive action to continue recent slowing in health-care cost growth can help to stabilize the U.S. fiscal trajectory and increase take-home pay.

Peter Orszag outlines the obstacles that China faces on the road to becoming a high-income country and explains why other nations should take note.