By ScottBittle on August 10th, 2007

The top people at the Concord Coalition have issued a briefing paper on the nation's fiscal challenge as part of Brookings' Opportunity '08 series. The Brookings series is designed to take on issues for the presidential campaign, so this quote in particular stands out:

 

The next administration must enter office with a mandate to act on this problem. Doing so will likely require a mix of options arrived at through bipartisan negotiations. The more options taken off the table through ironclad campaign promises, the more difficult it will be to find meaningful solutions once the campaigns are over and the time for governing begins. Candidates must acknowledge the magnitude of the problem, the need for trade-offs and the necessity for prompt action. Vague promises of “fiscal responsibility” give the public insufficient insight into how well candidates understand the task at hand.

 

It's worth a read -- consider it consumer protection for America's voters.


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Re: America's Economy: Headed for Crisis?

On August 16th, 2007 xbalance says:

I have not read the article, yet, but after reading the first sentence I felt compelled to comment.  With our country in such a fiscal mess with no plan even on the table to fix it why would so many people want to be President?  How about this as an explanation.  In 4 or 8 years the problem is going to be even worse becuase the problem will not be tackled during that time.  8 years from now the pain from not solving the problem might be bad enough that the person elected will have to take action to fix it.  Action to fix the problem today will not make people happy.  Action to fix the problems in 8 years will be even worse.  This might be their last chance to be President before the debt hits the fan.

 Unfortunately, it is my oponion that the only way this country will act is if we are made to suffer first.  By that time we are pretty much guaranteeing that our collective suffering will be much worse than it would have been had we acted sooner, but I don't think we are smart enough to avoid that.  Long term views are non-existent in the USA, and it is a darn shame! 


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