Fiscal Wake-Up Tour

The Fiscal Wake Up Tour is a joint public engagement initiative by The Concord Coalition, The Brookings Institution, and The Heritage Foundation. U. S. Comptroller General David M. Walker (CPA) is an advisor and has participated in each of the Tour's public events. The purpose of the Tour is to educate Americans about our nation's true long-term financial condition and large and growing fiscal imbalance and to encourage Americans to demand action. The tour conducts a series of town hall forums and editorial board briefings around the country. By uniting with analysts from across the political spectrum on the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour, Heritage hopes to encourage a spirit of bipartisan honesty and frank discussion.

Since the Tour's inception in 2005, the team has spoken in over 40 cities [ [http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/wakeuptourevents.html U.S. GAO - Fiscal Wake-up Tour - Events ] ] , stressing such concerns as:

* The combination of the "big three" entitlements – Medicare and Social Security and Medicaid – will double from the current 8 percent of GDP to 15 percent when today’s newborn graduates from college, to nearly 20 percent of GDP when today's college graduate reaches retirement in 2050. [http://www.heritage.org/research/Budget/FWUT.cfm The Heritage Foundation: Fiscal Wake-Up Tour ] ]
* The unfunded federal future obligations of the federal government are now the equivalent of a mortgage of over $50 trillion ($38.8 trillion of which is due to Medicare and Social Security). This translates into a financial burden of $170,000 for each American.

* Without reform of entitlements, balancing the budget would mean driving up taxes to European level within a generation at the risk of European economic stagnation.

ee also

*David M. Walker (CPA)

References

External links

* [http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/wakeuptour.html Government Accountability Office Wake Up Tour]
* [http://www.heritage.org/research/Budget/FWUT.cfm Heritage Foundation Fiscal Wake Up Tour]
* [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-11-14-fiscal-hurricane-cover_x.htm A 'Fiscal Hurricane' on the Horizon] USA Today Nov. 14, 2005
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-uVw7iXDAk Fiscal Wake Up Tour] at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Oct. 29, 2007