I.O.U.S.A. (9 page)

services produced

“ In addition, ” David Walker says, “ as you ’ ll fi nd out soon,
by labor and
this $8.7 trillion number is just a fraction of our fi scal chal-
property located
within a country

lenge. And it ’ s projected to get much worse in the future. ”

in a given year.

But Walker isn

’ t banging on his fi scal responsibility
When talking about
drum alone. There are others like him who see an economic
how much debt a
disaster of epic proportions waiting for the United States just
country owes, it
around the corner, and who are passionate about alerting
is often helpful to
look at the debt-to-the American people. Take Bob Bixby, for example, who is the
GDP ratio. What a
executive director of the Concord Coalition. We fi rst met
country produces
Mr. Bixby in his offi ce at the Concord Coalition headquarters
is indicative of the
in Washington, D.C. “ Our current fi scal path is unsustain-
country’s ability to
able, ” he says. “ Most people from the left or the right agree
pay back its debt.

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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 is
Up Tour participants that span the
political spectrum: Our fi nancial con-working against us. ”

dition is worse than advertised and

He continued, outlining the four
we need to act; we need to act soon
major economic challenges that drew
because time is working against us.

us to his message at the outset of the
—DAVID WALKER

project: “ America faces four serious

defi cits today. The fi rst is a budget

defi cit; the second is a savings defi cit; the third is a balance of payments defi cit, of which the trade defi cit is a subset; and the fourth and most serious of all is a leadership defi cit. ”

“ How can this be happening to the richest country in the world? ” Diane Rehm wanted to know.

“ Well, we ’ ve lost our way, quite frankly. ”

The four defi cits facing the nation, as outlined by David in over 50 speeches and interviews given since the Fiscal Wake - Up Tour began on September 26, 2005, would ultimately form the framework for the fi lm and subsequently this book.

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22 The

Mission

The National Conversation

We ’ re in agreement on one fundamental fact: Our current fi scal path is unsustainable. These defi cits are not predictions of what could happen in the future. They are imbalances within the U.S. economy that are occurring now. As we write this, in the summer of 2008, the American people are slowly awak-ening from their easy credit and housing bubble

- induced

slumber. The problem is that now that these problems

—

record energy prices, skyrocketing food costs, and an overall weakened economy — are staring them in the face, Americans are generally unprepared to engage in the national conversation occurring concerning these fi scal issues.

As we learned though talking with the average man on the street, people feel daunted and overwhelmed by economics.

The simple fact is, we ’ ve been apparently successful as a nation for so long that the average citizen hasn ’ t felt compelled to understand what ’ s happening in the economy. Fear of gigan-tic numbers, seemingly indiscernible statistics, debates over theory, and partisan bickering among the national political parties only add to the confusion. When people don ’ t understand something, they tend to dismiss it. What the average American doesn ’ t realize is that what happens at the Federal Reserve . . . in a Senate Budget Committee hearing . . . at a scrapyard in Los Angeles . . . or even in a lightbulb factory in China, directly affects them.

What we hope to do in the next few chapters is arm you with the language and resources necessary to engage in this national conversation so that you can hold your elected offi -

cials accountable for their decisions.

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