David Walker and the Federal Deficit on NPR

This morning on NPR’s Morning Edition one of our board members, David Walker, discussed his new book, Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility. In addition to being on CRFB’s board and serving as a commissioner on the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform, Walker is president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Prior that he was head of Congress’s watchdog agency as comptroller general at the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Listen to the interview below, or go to the Morning Edition site.

One review of the book is available here:

Walker believes that by 2030, absent significant reforms to current government programs and policies, federal taxes could double from current levels, meaning less money and poorer education for kids—which will hurt families along with our nation's economic strength and position in the world. If our foreign creditors—such as China—decide to buy fewer of our Treasury bonds, interest rates will rise and cars and homes will become less affordable.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Comeback America shows how we can return to our founding principles of fiscal responsibility and stewardship for future generations. The book includes bold ideas to control spending, save Social Security, dramatically alter Medicare, and simplify the tax code—all taking into account the Obama Administration's current efforts, which receive never-before-published assessments both complimentary and critical.

Nonpartisan, nonideological, and filled with a love of the country its esteemed author has spent his life serving, Comeback America is a book for anyone interested in America's economic future—in other words, a book everyone should read.