Bringing together thousands of diverse Americans from across the country simultaneously to discuss the nation’s fiscal challenges holds the promise of spurring an even broader national dialogue. This would help build the urgency and political will necessary to tackle our deficit and debt. MacArthur supported the recent non-partisan report by the National Research Council and the National Academy of Public Administration that argued, under continuation of the current trajectory of the federal budget, the nation faces the risk of a disruptive fiscal crisis. Concluding that “forceful, even painful, action must be taken soon to alter the nation’s fiscal course,” the report contains a range of tax and spending options that could be adopted to stabilize the debt within a decade.
Because every day’s delay in fixing our fiscal policies implies the necessary spending cuts and tax increases have to be larger and more abrupt, it is urgent that we get about the task at hand. And in that spirit, we are pleased now to support this creative new effort, among several others, to inform and engage the American public and find common ground.
