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the
    Brookings
    a tour of fi scally minded policy leaders from both sides of Institution, the
    the American political aisle. The group hosts a series of lun-Heritage Foundation, cheons and civic meetings around the country, which they ’ ve and the Honorable
    dubbed the Fiscal Wake - Up Tour.
    David M. Walker
    Early in our coverage of the Tour, David appeared on the of the Peterson
    Foundation, has
    Diane Rehm Show , a National Public Radio talk show broad-traveled to more
    cast out of WAMU, the American University radio station. We than 30 U.S. states
    fi lmed their discussion from the studio.
    holding “town
    “ David Walker, the comptroller general of the United hall meetings”
    States, is here in the studio with us, ” Ms. Rehm tells her audi-explaining why
    the country’s long-
    ence. “ For the past few years you ’ ve gone around the country term fi scal policy is
    on what you call the Fiscal Wake - Up Tours. Tell us what those unsustainable.
    are and why you ’ re doing this. ”
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    Chapter 1 The Real State of the Union 21
    “ There ’ s a coalition of groups that has come together, ”
    David says. “ The key players are the Concord Coalition, the Brookings Institution, the Heritage Foundation, and myself as comptroller general of the United States. We have many other organizations that are involved as well but those are the four cornerstones.
    “ What we ’ re doing is we ’ re going outside the beltway to state the facts and speak the truth to the American people, to help them understand where we ’ ve been, where we are, where we ’ re headed. Because my view is the only way that elected offi cials are going to make the tough choices is if the people understand the need for these choices and will not punish them for doing what ’ s right for America ’ s future.
    “ The facts aren ’ t Democrat or Republican, the facts aren ’ t liberal or conservative — the facts are the facts. And there is broad - based agreement among the The facts aren’t Democrat or Fiscal Wake
    - Up Tour participants Republican, the facts aren’t liberal that span the political spectrum: or conservative—the facts are the Our fi nancial condition is worse facts. And there is broad-based than advertised and we need to act; agreement among the Fiscal Wake-we need to act soon because time is Up Tour participants that span the political spectrum: Our fi nancial con-working against us. ”
    dition is worse than advertised and
    He continued, outlining the four we need to act; we need to act soon major economic challenges that drew because time is working against us.
    us to his message at the outset of the —DAVID WALKER
    project: “ America faces four serious
    defi cits today. The fi rst is a budget
    defi cit; the second is a savings defi cit; the third is a balance of payments defi cit, of which the trade defi cit is a subset; and the fourth and most serious of all is a leadership defi cit. ”
    “ How can this be happening to the richest country in the world? ” Diane Rehm wanted to know.
    “ Well, we ’ ve lost our way, quite frankly. ”
    The four defi cits facing the nation, as outlined by David in over 50 speeches and interviews given since the Fiscal Wake - Up Tour began on September 26, 2005, would ultimately form the framework for the fi lm and subsequently this book.
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    22 The
    Mission
    The National Conversation
    We ’ re in agreement on one fundamental fact: Our current fi scal path is unsustainable. These defi cits are not predictions of what could happen in the future. They are imbalances within the U.S. economy that are occurring now. As we write this, in the summer of 2008, the American people are slowly awak-ening from their easy credit and housing bubble
    - induced
    slumber. The problem is that now that these problems
    —
    record energy prices, skyrocketing food costs, and an overall weakened economy — are staring them in the face,