David Walker has been trying change the political climate since before Barack Obama took office as president. In addition to his Comeback America Initiative, the former U.S. comptroller general helped found No Labels, a political organization of Democrats, Republicans and Independents who say they’re committed to problem solving over party advancement. It was in that spirit that he opened his presentation at a Holiday Inn in Strongsville.
Walker: "Everybody is entitled to their opinion, everybody is entitled to their own political affiliation, to support whoever you want. But you're not entitled to your own facts."
And the facts are, Walker said, the United States is headed toward a fiscal crisis, and the only way to reverse course is to cut benefits and raise taxes.
Strongsville is one of many stops on Walker’s month-long bus tour. He tells me of the budget surplus that existed when he first became comptroller general in 1998. Then, he says, in 2003, under President George W. Bush, things went awry.
Walker: "Three things were done that individually were irresponsible, collectively reprehensible. Second round of tax cuts. We had already returned to deficits. We couldn't afford them. We invaded a sovereign nation without declaring war, without paying for it. Iraq. And Medicare prescription drugs was added, added a prescription drug benefit."
Walker says the stimulus, bailouts and health care reform have only added to the problem. And he warns the group of what he says could happen if the country fails to reach a bipartisan agreement to reduce the debt by next year.
Walker: "Significant increase in interest rates, dramatic and draconian spending reductions and significant tax increases in order to stabilize things. And believe me, that won't be good for economic growth, unemployment and underemployment."
But he has a list of ideas he says will thwart the deficit. Such as gradually raising the eligibility age for Social Security, hiking taxes on the wealthy while requiring more people to pay income taxes and requiring the federal government to guarantee basic health insurance to all citizens.
The event wasn’t just a lecture. Those attending debated his ideas in groups and used keypads to cast votes in favor or against.
61-year-old George Bodossian agreed with Walker's proposal to cut defense spending swayed. He's a health insurance broker from Middleburg Heights, and leans conservative.
Bodossian: "I don't know much about the details of defense spending, but I'm willing to believe that 50 percent of the defense budget could be cut without hurting our ability to defend our country."
But Pola Ochsenhirt says most in her group found it hard to part with benefits that help them. When someone asked what tax deductions would they be willing to give up…
Ochsenhirt: "Nobody really wanted to answer that question at the table."
And Michael Dalton, a 30-year-old hospital lobbyist from Akron, says people just want to know what changes to expect, so they can plan ahead.
Dalton: "I have student loans that are going to start to come due. I have a mortgage. And I kind of made some of these decisions based on what the rules were then, and if I see the rules start to change, that is going to impact me on a very personal level."
At the end of the meeting, the audience was asked if they thought Congress would reach a bipartisan budget agreement in 2013. Ninety percent of the people here said they weren't confident that would happen.
Take a look at CAI's participant guide laying out the group's reform proposals. And read through the results of the meeting's live electronic poll, provided by America Speaks.
