I.O.U.S.A - Addison Wiggin [2]
I have been fortunate to receive Presidential appointments from Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush (41), and Bill Clinton, each time being confi rmed unanimously by the United States Senate. There aren ’ t many people who can say that. In fact, I may be the only person who can.
During my more than 35 - year professional career I have spent 20 years in the private sector and 15 years with the federal government. I have been a transformational change agent in many of these positions, so far with very positive results.
Hopefully, that will continue.
Other than my professional background, there are things about me and interests that have had a strong infl uence on my career and actions. For example, my Walker line came to America in the 1600s and initially settled in Virginia. I have several ancestors who fought, and at least one who died, during the American Revolution. I am a student of history and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. Mary and I live in Mt. Vernon Farms, Virginia, on land that was once owned by George Washington.
Despite my family ’ s long history in America, to my knowledge, I am only the second Walker in my direct line to graduate from college. Most of my ancestors prior to my father worked in the mines, in mills, on farms, or as ministers.
While we rarely traveled outside the state in my early years, I have been fortunate to travel to all 50 states and about 90 countries to date. And, while I am proud to be an American, I also realize that there are many issues that are global in nature and that we must partner for progress with other countries to help make the world a better and safer place. Furthermore, while the flast.indd xi
8/26/08 6:27:20 PM
xii Foreword
United States is number one in many things, my experience has caused me to realize that we are not number one in all things.
In fact, we lag many other industrialized nations in connection with a range of key outcome - based indicators — public fi nance, education, health care, savings, and research and development, to name a few.
From a political perspective, early in life I was a south-ern Democrat. Later I was one of the fi rst in Northern Florida who changed my party registration to become a Republican.
In 1997, I offi cially became a political independent, refl ecting my frustration with both parties. As a candidate for the position of Comptroller General of the United States, I believed I should be independent both in form and in substance.
I consider myself an American who is an internationalist.
I was very involved in international policy and accountability issues during my tenure as Comptroller General. My interest in international issues continues and I was recently fortunate to be elected as the fi rst chairman of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC) of the United Nations.
Enough about my background — what about my involvement in the documentary? My involvement began with reading a book. As a history buff and a person interested in fi nancial matters, I decided to buy the book Empire of Debt on one of my many trips into a bookstore before boarding a fl ight. On this occasion, Mary and I were fl ying to Phoenix to visit our son Andy, our daughter - in - law Meghan, and their family.
During my career, I have become a fast reader and prolifi c writer. As a result, I was able to speed - read the book on the long fl ight west. I enjoyed the book, especially the analogies to past history. I have used the analogies in many of my speeches, including frequent references to the challenges that we now face that led to Rome ’ s downfall. At the same time, while I enjoyed the book, I did not agree with everything in it.
When Mary and I arrived at Andy and Meghan ’ s home we had the opportunity to engage in a time - honored tradition for grandparents: reading to our then granddaughter, Grace. She flast.indd xii
8/26/08 6:27:20 PM
Foreword xiii
is a very