National Debt Tour
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is spearheading a national tour of U.S. Senate and House members, fiscal experts, and business leaders as part of a national campaign to push a major debt reduction deal in 2012. The national debt stands at over $15 trillion and is growing every day. Poll after poll shows that the national debt is a top concern for Americans. When it comes to addressing deficits and debt in way that strengthens the economy, people are looking for leadership and solutions from Washington, but all they see is partisanship and sound bites. This cross-country tour will bring people together to confront this major challenge to our future. The National Debt Tour will inform Americans about what’s at stake, engage them in discussing solutions, and empower them to demand action from their leaders towards a “Go Big” plan to beat the debt.
National Debt Tour: Boston
2/21/2012
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget kicked off its "National Debt Tour" with a forum at Harvard University's Institute of Politics in Boston. The event, entitled "Fiscal 911: Washington to the Rescue?" included four prominent panelists: U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), an organizer of the Senate’s 2011 bipartisan "Gang of Six" deficit reduction initiative; Dave Cote, former member, National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and Chairman and CEO, Honeywell International; former Rep. Vin Weber (R-MN); and CRFB president Maya MacGuineas. The discussion focused on the fiscal problems the country faces and the disastrous impact leaving it unsolved could have. They also discussed the framework of a workable solution, focusing on the recommendations put forth by the Fiscal Commission that include both revenue increases and spending cuts. As Sen. Warner said, "It doesn't take a Harvard graduate student to realize if you're spending 25 cents and collecting 15 cents and that anytime you've had a balance over the last 75 years it's been in the middle, it means you've got to both decrease spending and find a way to generate more revenue."
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is spearheading a national tour of U.S. Senate and House members, fiscal experts, and business leaders as part of a national campaign to push a major debt reduction deal in 2012. The national debt stands at over $15 trillion and is growing every day. Poll after poll shows that the national debt is a top concern for Americans. When it comes to addressing deficits and debt in way that strengthens the economy, people are looking for leadership and solutions from Washington, but all they see is partisanship and sound bites. This cross-country tour will bring people together to confront this major challenge to our future. The National Debt Tour will inform Americans about what’s at stake, engage them in discussing solutions, and empower them to demand action from their leaders towards a “Go Big” plan to beat the debt.
A replay of the event is embedded below.
National Debt Tour: New York City
3/29/2012
The next stop on the CRFB's "National Debt Tour" was a panel discussion in New York City hosted by the Wall Street Journal. Headlining the event were the Fiscal Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform Co-Chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Many different aspects of our fiscal problem were discussed including rising health care costs, the fiscal cliff, and the politics of making the tough decisions, with the Simpson-Bowles plan presented as a possible solution. Bloomberg praised the Simpson-Bowles plan for setting priorities for the country unlike the narrow partisan plans that usually proposed in Congress. All acknowledged that the some of the provisions would be painful but without both spending and revenue sacrifices the nation will not be able to address this problem. At the end of the discussion the audience was asked if they would vote for a plan based the Commission recommendations and the vote was overwhelmingly in favor, demonstrating again the disconnect between Congress and citizens on this issue.
Our national tour will continue to highlight the need for major deficit reduction in 2012. The panel reinforced the need for strong leadership to put all options on the table and ensure that partisanship stalls any chance to address this issue. A poll has found that the biggest concerns among investors are a divided federal government and the rising federal deficit. Simpson-Bowles or a similar comprehensive plan could address both of these concerns and help businesses invest in confidence. The National Debt Tour will continue to bring together great minds like Simpson, Bowles, and Bloomberg and ensure fiscal responsibility remains one of the top priorities this year.
A replay of the event is available here.
The Fiscal Crisis Facing the United States
4/18/2012
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget continued its national tour to push for a major deficit reduction plan 2012 with an event entitled "The Fiscal Crisis Facing the United States." The event was held at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center in Roanoke, VA and was hosted by Ferrum College. This stop on the tour featured five prominent speakers: Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), an organizer of the Senate's "Gang of Six" deficit reduction initiative; Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA); Joe Minarik, Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Committee for Economic Development; Barry Anderson, former Acting Director of the Congressional Budget Office and CRFB director; and Paul L. Posner, Director of the Centers on the Public Service at George Mason University.
Each speaker brought their own unique perspective to the debate, but all agreed that our present fiscal path is unsustainable and comprehensive fiscal reform is desperately needed. Minarik spoke about the tremendous challenge of health care spending, due to an aging populations and rapidly growing health care costs. On the politics of fiscal reform, Warner challenged the notion that Congress could wait until after November’s election arguing “every day we fail to act on this debt, we add $4 billion dollars to that debt number.”
Posner emphasized that point as well, saying that while nations could make large corrections in their fiscal stances, the best policies are forward looking and slowly phased in. Congress should not delay any longer; this problem will only become more difficult. CRFB’s debt tour will continue to promote discussion across the country bringing together politicians and experts, Democrats and Republican, for forthright conversation on one of our nation’s most pressing issues. The next stop is Dallas.
Check out these photos from the event! We are unable to embed this video, but if you click here and select "On Demand", the click "Ferrum College Forum on Critical Thinking" you can watch the event!
National Debt Tour: Boise
8/20/2012
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget continued its National Debt Tour at the Idaho Statehouse with a panel discussion hosted by Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID). The event, entitled “A Critical Discussion on Solving the Debt Crisis Facing All Idahoans and Americans,” also featured Idaho Congressional Delegation members Senator Jim Risch and Representative Raul Labrador along with Lieutenant Governor Brad Little and CRFB President Maya MacGuineas in a town hall forum focused on our current debt problem.
While there were different views on how to solve our deficit spending problem, there was little question that our current fiscal path cannot continue. Senator Crapo gave the problem some historical context, calling it “the greatest internal threat the U.S. has ever face.” Finding a compromise between the many different plans will be difficult, but Crapo reminded the audience “of all the different approaches, the worst is the status quo.” MacGuineas added that the first step in finding a solution is “to have a national conversation on what it will take to fix the debt.” After another successful event, we hope that future stops on the National Debt Tour be met with the same enthusiasm and support as Idaho.
