Fix the Debt Reacts to President Obama’s Speech on the Economy
Washington, DC (PRWEB) July 25, 2013 -- On July 24, President Obama gave a highly-anticipated address on our nation’s ongoing economic challenges. According to the New York Times, the President returned to the site of his first major economic speech eight years ago to make the case for a program designed to lift the economy and help middle-class Americans.
The Campaign to Fix the Debt, a nonpartisan movement asking lawmakers to work together on legislation large enough to stabilize and reduce the national debt as a share of the economy, reacted to the speech.
“While the Campaign to Fix the Debt was encouraged by the President’s commitment to working with Congress in pursuit of long-term economic growth, we believe he missed an opportunity to tell the American people about the need to put our national debt on a sustainable downward path for the generations to come,” said Maya MacGuineas, who, in addition to leading the Campaign to Fix the Debt, is the President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan organization focused on educating the public on issues related to fiscal policy.
“While the Campaign to Fix the Debt echoes President Obama’s desire to build a sustainable economy for all Americans, this cannot be accomplished without dealing with the nation’s unsustainable debt path, which is a critical part of helping the recovery, creating jobs, and fueling long-term economic growth.
“Only the President has the ability to use the bully pulpit to draw the connections between debt, the economy, and American families’ economic security. Instead of mentioning the deficit only to say how much it has fallen since its recession-era peak, the President could have explained, for instance, how failing to smartly deal with the debt has already started squeezing the types of public investments on infrastructure, research, and education that he said he would like to expand. Smart deficit reduction is necessary to achieve lasting economic growth and job creation,” continued MacGuineas.
“Dealing with the nation’s long-term fiscal challenges will require Presidential leadership, and this was a lost opportunity for the President to help the nation focus on the kinds of policies that could be part of the solution.”
Members of the Campaign to Fix the Debt come from a broad range of social, economic, and political perspectives with the belief that America's growing debt burden threatens our future, and that we must address it now. The Campaign mobilizes key communities – including leaders from business, government, and policy – and people all across America who want to see elected officials step up to solve our nation's fiscal challenges.
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For more information about the Campaign to Fix the Debt, please visit http://www.fixthedebt.org.
Jon Romano, Fix the Debt, http://www.fixthedebt.org/, (617) 435-6613, [email protected]
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