I.O.U.S.A - Addison Wiggin [14]
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20 The
Mission
Concord
on that. They may disagree on how to deal with it, but most
Coalition:
people think that eventually the fi scal policy of the country is A nationwide,
headed over a cliff. ”
nonpartisan,
To illustrate his point, Bob entreated us to take a look at grassroots
the federal budget proposals that were sitting on his desk.
organization
dedicated to
We looked fi rst at the federal budget for 1988, which was educating the public jam - packed with numbers, fi gures, graphs, and charts. It ’ s a about the causes
slim volume, the size of a short beach read. In addition to and consequences
data, the document contains a few descriptions of the proof federal budget
defi cits, about
grams that the president was pushing. Pretty cut - and - dried.
the long-term
Then Mr. Bixby hefted up the budget for 2005. If 1988s challenges
was a beach read, this was War and Peace . The budget did have facing America’s
numbers — but now it had color pictures and glossy paper. It unsustainable
“ is not what it used to be, ” says Mr. Bixby, “ when it was just entitlement
programs, and
numbers and descriptions of the programs. The budget pro-about how to build a posal document itself is a kind of a metaphor for what ’ s hap-sound economy for
pening with the federal government. ”
future generations.
Fiscal Wake-
Up Tour: Since
The Fiscal Wake - Up Tour
2005, this joint
public engagement
To help voters and the American public understand the initiative, made
gravity of fi nancial crisis facing the nation, David Walker up of the Concord
and Bob Bixby have joined together. They ’ ve been leading Coalition, the
Brookings
a tour of fi scally minded policy leaders from both sides of Institution, the
the American political aisle. The group hosts a series of lun-Heritage Foundation, cheons and civic meetings around the country, which they ’ ve and the Honorable
dubbed the Fiscal Wake - Up Tour.
David M. Walker
Early in our coverage of the Tour, David appeared on the of the Peterson
Foundation, has
Diane Rehm Show , a National Public Radio talk show broad-traveled to more
cast out of WAMU, the American University radio station. We than 30 U.S. states
fi lmed their discussion from the studio.
holding “town
“ David Walker, the comptroller general of the United hall meetings”
States, is here in the studio with us, ” Ms. Rehm tells her audi-explaining why
the country’s long-
ence. “ For the past few years you ’ ve gone around the country term fi scal policy is
on what you call the Fiscal Wake - Up Tours. Tell us what those unsustainable.
are and why you ’ re doing this. ”
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Chapter 1 The Real State of the Union 21
“ There ’ s a coalition of groups that has come together, ”
David says. “ The key players are the Concord Coalition, the Brookings Institution, the Heritage Foundation, and myself as comptroller general of the United States. We have many other organizations that are involved as well but those are the four cornerstones.
“ What we ’ re doing is we ’ re going outside the beltway to state the facts and speak the truth to the American people, to help them understand where we ’ ve been, where we are, where we ’ re headed. Because my view is the only way that elected offi cials are going to make the tough choices is if the people understand the need for these choices and will not punish them for doing what ’ s right for America ’ s future.
“ The facts aren ’ t Democrat or Republican, the facts aren ’ t liberal or conservative — the facts are the facts. And there is broad - based agreement among the The facts aren’t Democrat or Fiscal Wake
- Up Tour participants Republican, the facts aren’t liberal that span the political spectrum: or conservative—the facts are the Our fi nancial condition is worse facts. And there is broad-based than advertised and we need to act; agreement among the Fiscal Wake-we need to act soon because time