Concord Coalition Co

The Fiscal Wake-Up Tour is a joint public engagement initiative by The Concord Coalition, the Budgeting for National Priorities Project at the Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation. U. S. Comptroller General David Walker is an advisor and has participated in each of the Tour's public events. We have visited many cities including Richmond, Minneapolis, Portland (OR), Atlanta, Kansas City, Durham, Omaha, Philadelphia, Wilmington, San Diego, Austin, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Des Moines, Columbus, Syracuse and Manchester (NH). Many events are planned for the remainderof 2007 and for 2008. The purpose of this Tour is to explain in plain terms why budget analysts of diverse perspectives are increasingly alarmed by the nation's long-term fiscal outlook. Our emphasis is on the key areas in which we have found consensus, such as: - The overall dimensions of the problem - The nature of the realistic trade-offs that must be confronted in finding solutions - The adverse and inequitable consequences for future generations if we fail to make serious changes, sooner rather than later. Our mission is to cut through the usual partisan rhetoric and stimulate a more realistic public dialogue on what we want our nation's future to look like, along with the required trade-offs. We believe that elected leaders in Washington know there is a problem, but they are unlikely to act unless their constituents better understand the need for action, and indeed, demand it...