Today, a diverse group of small business owners, veterans, business and community leaders, and concerned individuals from across the country, including former Tennessee Governor Winfield Dunn, converged on Washington, D.C., "to call on lawmakers to address the rapidly approaching fiscal cliff and the country’s long-term federal debt problems."
Members of the Campaign to Fix the Debt, including the co-chairs of Tennessee’s state chapter, applauded the fly-in participants and called on Congress to address the country’s debt challenges.
"One of the best and most important things we can do for the next generation of young Tennesseans is to fix the national debt,” said Tennessee Co-Chair Dunn. “If we do not act, the future financial burden on young people, as well as to our overall economy, will be severe. But if our leaders will come together right now in a bipartisan way to cut wasteful spending, tackle entitlement reform and close the tax loopholes, we can restore a much brighter future for the United States. Our children and grandchildren are counting on us.”
“As a long-time proponent of the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Plan, it is clear that a compromise from both political parties is the only way that we will be able to outmaneuver the fiscal cliff and reduce the nation’s debt,” said Tim Pagliara, Tennessee co-chair, founder of Enact the Plan, and chairman and CEO of CapWealth Advisors. “It will not be easy, but if we can work together, we will leave behind a much brighter financial future for our children and grandchildren.”
The group said, "Today, the national debt exceeds $16 trillion and continues to grow. On January 1, the country faces a hazardous combination of spending cuts and tax expirations – known as the 'fiscal cliff' – that the Congressional Budget Office predicts would cause the economy to shrink in 2013. According to figures released by the American Action Forum, Tennessee could lose 201,010 jobs if the fiscal cliff is not averted."
The Campaign to Fix the Debt is "a non-partisan movement to put America on a better fiscal and economic path. We come together from a variety of social, economic and political perspectives, around the common belief that America's growing federal debt threatens our future and that we must address it. The Campaign will mobilize 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."