President Obama walks at the White House with presidential debt commission co-chairs Erskine Bowles (left) and Alan Simpson. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
Ghosts Of Debts Past, Present And Future
NPR examines the federal debt and the choices to be made in order to get it under control.The co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, Erskine Bowles (left) and Alan Simpson (right), listen to President Obama deliver a speech in the Rose Garden of the White House. The commission will release its report on how to reduce the nation's debt this week. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
President Johnson (center) signs the Medicare Act in 1965 as former President Harry Truman (right) looks on. Now the cost of Medicare threatens to crush the federal budget. LBJ Library/National Archives hide caption