Here are the highlights from this weekend’s editorials on fiscal and budget policy:

The New York Times criticized Republican healthcare reform proposals as not doing enough to fix the current system or to contain costs.  Proposals such as health savings accounts, high-risk pools, and allowing insurance to be purchased in any state, they argued, would either not drive down costs enough or would actually push up premiums for certain groups.

With the release of the President's budget yesterday, CRFB has received a ton of media coverage, including The Washington Post, Financial Times, CNN, Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, Congressional Quarterly, News Hour, and many others.

Here are some notable quotes:

UPDATE: Web chat is beginning and is now live.

Today at noon (9am Pacific), CRFB Policy Director Marc Goldwein will be participating in a live web-chat to answer questions about the President's FY 2011 budget. The chat will be run through Politico and the New America Foundation. 

Our good friend Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation wrote in The Washington Note, this week, that President Obama's proposed spending Freeze Forfeits America's Future. Clemons argues that the proposed non-security discretionary spending freeze would hinder necessary public investments and put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to China. We strongly disagree.

Yesterday, CRFB President Maya MacGuineas had an op-ed in CNN calling President Obama's proposed non-security freeze A Good First Step. Here are some highlights:

This morning, CRFB board member Gene Steuerle claimed in a USA Today article that the big problem of current deficits is not just a symptom of the annual budgeting process.  He says that in fact, the Federal government is gripped by a disease:

Picking a “fiscal goal” would be a great way to get the discussion started about what policies to enact to close the budget gap. It allows policymakers to engage in an apples-to-apples comparison of how best to fix the budget situation.

Update: The debate between Maya MacGuineas and Brad Delong is about to begin. See the live tweets here: http://twitter.com/BudgetHawks

Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, joined three other budget experts testifying today before the House Budget Committee.  MacGuineas was discussing the Peterson-Pew Commission's recent report Red Ink Rising.  We will post more on that hearing later today.

Even though they're sending a self-proclaimed deficit hawk to the Senate, Massachusetts voters don't see the budget as a major problem, if two recent public opinion polls are to be believed. Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown railed against government spending in his campaign. But it appears that his upset win can be attributed to voter unrest on other issues , such as health reform rather than government spending.