AGA Today
Reaching the
Ear of the President and the Congress
A Commentary on the
June 26th National Town Meeting “AmericaSpeaks: Our
Budget, Our Economy”
By: Edward J. Mazur
In our nation of over
300 million people, it is a rare occasion when the concerns and
recommendations of an individual citizen reach the ear of the president,
the president’s senior advisers, and the leadership of key congressional
committees. Yet for more than 3,500 American citizens who participated
in the June 26 National Town Meeting, “AmericaSpeaks: Our Budget, Our
Economy,” that is exactly what will be happening this summer.
How the National Town
Meeting Was Structured
The 3,500 citizens met at
60 regional and community meeting sites all across the nation and were
linked together electronically for almost seven hours. Through
a highly innovative, Internet-based arrangement, they were
able to simultaneously review, consider and discuss a common set facts,
issues and options concerning the current and projected financial
condition and budgetary requirements of the federal government.
Sitting together,
individual participants were able to share their responses to the
information presented and openly discuss their concerns and individual
opinions on how the U.S. might, one day, return to fiscal balance and
strength at the federal level. Most important, they were able to
communicate the sense of these discussions instantaneously to
Philadelphia, where their views were combined with that of their fellow
participants.
Emerging With a Broad
Consensus
The 3,500 citizens
reached agreement that the projected long-term fiscal condition of the
nation is unsustainable. They also concluded that projected deficits
under current law and policy, as calculated by the Congressional Budget
Office, needed to be significantly reduced over the next 15 years.
Further, they openly acknowledged that the needs of our current voting
age citizens should be balanced against those of our younger citizens
and future generations of Americans. At the beginning of the Town
Meeting, the participants were challenged to “share your greatest
hope for the future of the country that your children, grandchildren and
future generations will inherit,” and they did.
Recommendations for
Deficit Reduction
The gathered citizens
reviewed and discussed 42 options for reducing the size of projected
national deficits, and agreed to a goal of reducing these projected
deficits by $1.2 trillion in the year 2025. To accomplish this
reduction, the participants recommended a combination of actions, as
follows:
· 62
percent recommended that Medicare and Medicaid spending be reduced by
between 5 percent and 15 percent.
· 87
percent recommended that the Social Security Trust Fund be made more
sustainable through a variety of means, including raising the qualifying
age for benefits and raising the amount of wages subjected to Social
Security withholding.
· 68
percent favored reductions in all non-defense-related government program
costs of between 5 percent and 15 percent, especially by eliminating
programs that were no longer productive as opposed to imposing
across-the-board reductions.
· 85
percent supported reductions in defense-related spending of between 5
percent and 15 percent, while noting that such reductions should focus
on eliminating unwanted and costly systems and not reduce the fighting
capacity of America’s military personnel.
· 73
percent favored some increase in current individual income and corporate
taxes, while 68 percent favored some cap on, and/or elimination of,
deductions and credits.
· 50
percent suggested that the Tax Code be reformed and that revenues from
such changes be assigned to both lower the tax rate and reduce projected
annual deficits, while some specifically favored the adoption of a “flat
tax” mechanism as a replacement for the current structure.
· 75
percent were open to new taxes such as a 5 percent value-added tax, a
carbon tax, and taxes on securities transactions.
Tone of the
Discussions
While serving as the
“issues expert” for the more than 70 participants gathered in the
Virginia State Capitol Building in Richmond, I made the following
observations:
·
The
participants clearly represented a spectrum of views, with an even
distribution among those identifying themselves as liberal, moderate and
conservative.
·
The
participants were energized throughout the day, apparently pleased with
the opportunity to provide substantive input to the nation’s leadership.
·
Notwithstanding the occasional grimace, each participant listened
respectfully to his or her fellow participants—without a loud voice
heard at anytime during the seven hours they were together. At the end
of the day, 91 percent of the participants nationwide reported that they
were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the tone and quality of
discussions during the Town Meeting.
·
The
participants gave clear evidence of caring in a most personal way about
the future of their country; a poignant example was the man who brought
with him his personal copy of the U.S. Constitution.
·
Although additional options for reducing the deficit were identified and
reported during the day, the original list of 42 options appeared to be
appropriate and acceptable to the participants. The 42 options were
developed by a very diverse National Advisory Committee, which included
foundations, think tanks and other nonprofit organizations dedicated to
the study and consideration of major national issues.
What Will the
President and the Congress Hear?
During July, AmericaSpeaks
presented the priorities that emerged from the National Town Meeting to
President Obama and to key committees of the Congress, as well as to the
National
Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
and the
Bi-Partisan
Policy Center’s Debt Reduction Task Force.
The citizens who participated on June 26 requested that those receiving
the report on their opinions and recommendations be asked to “abandon
the failed politics of partisanship” and to “please find the political
will to use this input as if it was coming from a powerful lobbying
group—because we are.”
The president and the
Congress will also hear that deficit reductions must occur over the next
15 years, and that Americans will tolerate changes to benefits, to
programs and services, and taxation levels in order to preserve a viable
and strong nation for their children and future generations. They will
also hear that all aspects of our federal government must be “on the
table,” from programs and services, to benefits, to taxes, because
deficit reduction will require changes and sacrifices in each of these
areas.
Finally, they will
hear recommendations from the participants as to specific changes in law
and policy that can be incorporated into a comprehensive package of
deficit reform measures—to be passed by the Congress and signed into law
by the President in 2011.
Closing Thoughts
It was a privilege to
be with the citizens who joined in the Richmond portion of the National
Town Meeting. They were such “typical” Americans—different from one
another in age, appearance, heritage and opinion, but as one in their
desire to see the country survive its current and long-term fiscal
crises. These were folks who you could tell would help a fellow citizen,
who want to see our nation’s youth receive an excellent education, and
who want America to be strong for a long time to come.
With little
difficulty, they recognized that America is now in a fiscal ditch and
that it either will pull itself out or be at the mercy of those who hold
our publicly held debt. They want to see the country out of this ditch,
and they understand that it may take 10 to 20 years to achieve that
objective; but they want to get started on that task now. They also
understand that repairing the financial underpinnings of our Federal
Government does not necessitate citizens standing in front of a
microphone launching a tirade at another American, nor does it involve
having to demonize our President, or any particular member of the
Congress, or any particular political party. They want all America to do
what they did on a bright, hot, summer Saturday—treat each other
respectfully, listen to each other, look at credible facts and be
willing to support change that will bring our beloved country back from
the fiscal brink at which it now stands.
About AmericaSpeaks
The National Town
Meeting was a project of AmericaSpeaks, a nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization that seeks to provide Americans with a greater voice in the
most important decisions that affect their lives. The costs of the June
26 event were covered by contributions from the Peter G.
Peterson Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
In the weeks and
months following the event, AmericaSpeaks will work with the June
26 participants, as well as its various local and national
partners, to continue to educate the public about the challenges facing
the nation and to raise awareness about the expressed priorities for
deficit reduction that emerged from the National Town Meeting.
Edward J. Mazur, CPA,
is author of Intergovernmental Financial Dependency and Related Risks,
a three-volume report published by Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, available
for download at
www.cbh.com/intergovernmentalreport.
Mazur served as Controller of the Office of Federal Financial
Management, within the Office of Management and Budget, under Presidents
George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Contact information:
emazur@cbh.com.