On a recent day in Florida, hundreds of people gathered to examine federal budget issues, question former members of Congress and push for sustainable fiscal policy. For me, that sparked hope for our nation’s future, even in the face of mounting federal debt and changing demographics.
The Concord Coalition and Fix the Debt partnered with two universities and eight former congressmen on Sept. 23 to present the programs and to help give members of the Millennial generation a larger voice on fiscal issues.
On a recent day in Florida, hundreds of people gathered to examine federal budget issues, question former members of Congress and push for sustainable fiscal policy. For me, that sparked hope for our nation’s future, even in the face of mounting federal debt and changing demographics.
The Concord Coalition and Fix the Debt partnered with two universities and eight former congressmen on Sept. 23 to present the programs and to help give members of the Millennial generation a larger voice on fiscal issues.
About 200 people — mostly high school students — attended a program during the day that was part of the Lou Frey Institute’s fall symposium at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. That evening about 50 people attended a fiscal forum on the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus.
The Orlando program featured a panel that included Reverend John Allen Newman and former U.S. House members Bill Zeliff, Jason Altmire, Allen Boyd, Cliff Stearns and Tom Tauke.
“No political issue is more critical than the federal debt and deficit,” Altmire said. Boyd echoed that sentiment, saying today’s fiscal issues will determine what kind of America we and the next generation will live in.
Added Tauke: “The longer we wait to resolve such problems, the harder it will be.” But the panel members were hopeful and agreed with Stearns when he proclaimed: “Yes, our nation can both reduce the deficit and invest in the future.”
Focusing on the Millennials in the audience, Reverend Newman said, “You have to see the importance of the political system, and you have to have the passion to fix its brokenness.”
Audience members seemed to have heard the call as they subsequently worked, along with the panelists, on Concord’s federal budget exercise, called “Principles & Priorities.”
They were divided into 26 small groups that managed to reach agreement on policy options that would reduce projected federal deficits by an average total of almost $2 trillion over the next decade. Some groups found as much as $3.8 trillion.
Concord has seen a developing trend with those who participate in such exercises around the country. People of all ages want practical and responsible solutions to our nation’s fiscal and economic challenges.
Some favor tax reform, others focus on entitlement programs. Some want cuts in other domestic spending, and some demand more austerity at the Pentagon. But there is widespread agreement on the need to compromise and focus on long-term solutions.
In Tampa, former Representative Jim Davis, former Senator George LeMieux, Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L. Bixby and Marc Goldwein, senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, had a lively panel discussion that ranged from defense spending to interest payments on the debt.
The questions from the audience were thoughtful, challenging and often reflected deep concern. Many expressed frustration with the current budget process in Washington, and wondered how the country could ever move past all of the partisan rhetoric. Others asked if programs such as Social Security would be around for future generations.
Davis emphasized the need for bipartisan solutions: “Everyone is going to have to give up something.”
In a final call to action, LeMieux emphasized the critical importance of public engagement. “Our government,” he said, “is only as good as we allow it to be – it’s ultimately on us.”
These two programs in Florida tell a hopeful story, one that reflects the kind of citizen engagement that LeMieux says is necessary. Such engagement, together with a spirit of compromise and responsibility, can help our nation meet the enormous challenges ahead.
Citizens seem ready for real change – Congress should be, too.
