Fix the Debt
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Fix the Debt is a group of executives and former legislators who campaign for
deficit reduction Deficit reduction can refer to any method of reducing a government budget deficit (including reduced government spending and/or increased government revenue). See also *Deficit (disambiguation) *Deficit Reduction Act (disambiguation) *Deficit reduc ...
and tax reform. The Campaign to Fix the Debt was founded in July 2012 by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. In September 2012 they wrote, "If we can't get members of Congress to put aside their ultra-partisanship and pull together rather than apart, we face the most predictable economic crisis in history." The Campaign comprises a variety of socio-economic and political views and engages business and government leaders alongside American citizens.


Leadership

Fix the Debt is chaired by Judd Gregg and
Edward Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philade ...
. In March 2017 they wrote of rising national debt, "Both parties have contributed to the problem, and leaders in both are unwilling to ruffle feathers and make the tough choices needed." They said of gross national debt exceeding $22 trillion in February 2019, "This milestone is another sad reminder of the inexcusable tab our nation's leaders continue to run up and will leave for the next generation."


Steering committee

As of 12 May 2017, the campaign's steering committee comprises the following members: *
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
* Phil Bredesen * Kent Conrad *
David M. Cote David M. Cote (born July 19, 1952) is an American businessman. Cote previously worked for General Electric and TRW Inc.Beetz, Kirk H. "Cote, David M. 1952–." ''International Directory of Business Biographies''. Ed. Neil Schlager. Vol. 1. De ...
* Pete Domenici * Vic Fazio * Jim McCrery * Sam Nunn * Michael Peterson *
Steven Rattner Steven Lawrence Rattner (born July 5, 1952) is a New York investment asset manager who served as lead adviser to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry in 2009.
* Alice Rivlin * Scott Smith * Antonio Villaraigosa * Robert Zoellick


History

The campaign was launched in late 2012 with print, digital, and outdoor advertisements and chapters across 17 states. One of the campaign's primary contributors was
Peter George Peterson Peter George Peterson (June 5, 1926 – March 20, 2018) was an American investment banker who served as United States Secretary of Commerce from February 29, 1972, to February 1, 1973, under the Richard Nixon administration. Before serving as Sec ...
, a billionaire investor and former chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers. Other early members included Ed Rendell, Judd Gregg, and Maya MacGuineas, who became the campaign's official spokesperson. In December 2012, MacGuineas said, “We want a deal to happen, and want it to happen in a bipartisan way, because otherwise it’s not going to stick.” Over 300,000 people signed a petition demanding that policymakers fix the debt. The group's influence in the corporate sector quickly grew, as early members
David M. Cote David M. Cote (born July 19, 1952) is an American businessman. Cote previously worked for General Electric and TRW Inc.Beetz, Kirk H. "Cote, David M. 1952–." ''International Directory of Business Biographies''. Ed. Neil Schlager. Vol. 1. De ...
, Mark Bertolini, and
Larry Fink Laurence Douglas Fink (born November 2, 1952) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of BlackRock, an American multinational investment management corporation. BlackRock is the largest money-management firm in the wor ...
began recruiting other big business associates. By November 2012, the organization's CEO Council was composed of approximately 150 executives. In the financial sector,
Steven Rattner Steven Lawrence Rattner (born July 5, 1952) is a New York investment asset manager who served as lead adviser to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry in 2009.
and
James B. Lee, Jr. James Bainbridge Lee, Jr. (October 30, 1952 – June 17, 2015) was an American investment banker, notable for his role in the development of the leveraged finance markets in the U.S. in the 1980s. He is widely credited as the architect of the mo ...
became the lead recruiters. The campaign proposed a July 4, 2013 deadline for a deficit reduction plan akin to the Simpson-Bowles plan, but was met with resistance at the grassroots and governmental levels. In a 2013 interview with the '' New Hampshire Union Leader'', Cote identified the problem of debt reduction in the United States as being the fact that "Washington is ruled by fear of voters ... and the three 'h's' prevail—hysteria, histrionics and hyperbole". He also framed the options for deficit reduction in terms of increases in taxes and/or spending cuts."Honeywell CEO, a Manchester native, takes on deficit, Social Security crisis".
Dave Solomon, ''New Hampshire Union Leader'', 11 February 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
In 2015, the campaign identified three goals in the 2016 presidential election: to incentivize candidates to create and follow through on fiscal strategies, to increase engagement with the public and the media on relevant issues, and to hold candidates responsible for statements made on fiscal policy. Following the November 2016 Presidential election and going into 2017, Rattner sought to explain growing divide within the campaign and the CEO Council's shifting focus from shrinking the debt to tax cuts as not being contradictory.{{cite news , last1=Sorkin , first1=Andrew Ross , title=C.E.O. Deficit Fears Dissolve With the Prospect of Corporate Tax Cuts , url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/20/business/corporate-taxes-national-debt.html , accessdate=29 June 2018 , work=New York Times , date=21 November 2017 , language=en


Criticism

The Fix the Debt campaign has been criticized since its inception for supporting corporate tax breaks while calling for cutting funds to Social Security and Medicare. Kevin Connor, director of the
Public Accountability Initiative The Public Accountability Initiative (PAI) is an American nonprofit watchdog organization investigating corporate and government accountability. Founded in 2008 and based in Buffalo, New York, it operates the volunteer-run online database LittleSis ...
, as quoted in '' The New York Times'', identified a possible
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
between the broad objectives of the group and the reality of their day to day lobbying of Washington for favorable tax treatment of their own industries and continued government spending on programs that benefit their companies. He also pointed out that the group calls for a reduction in government spending on social security but not on defence spending, a major business area for Honeywell. "It’s easier to get face time in Washington as a deficit hawk than as a corporate hack," he said, continuing "They are spending millions, but they are protecting billions in defense contracts and tax giveaways that would otherwise be on the chopping block.""Public Goals, Private Interests in Debt Campaign"
Nicholas Confessore, ''The New York Times'', 9 January 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2015.


References

Lobbying organizations in the United States 2012 establishments in the United States