President Ronald Reagan said, "For decades we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals. You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we're not bound by that same limitation? We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow."

How prophetic.

Just a few decades later, the outcry over deficit spending and the rapidly escalating national debt is reaching ear-piercing levels. Everyone but the Obama administration seems to understand the fiscal crisis facing the nation.

We hear dire warnings about the economy from every corner of the nation    economists, Wall Street, fiscal analysts, legislators, civic leaders, investment brokers, and financial commentators in the media. No wonder; a quick look at various aspects of the economy reveals a dark forecast.

•  Foreclosures are up

•  Homeowners are "underwater"

•  Housing prices are falling

•  Unemployment is at 9.1 percent

•  The Misery index is at a 28-year high

As polls go, Gallup says that only 20 percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going, and CNN shows that nearly half of all Americans think we're on the verge of another "Great Depression."

Yet the current administration clearly believes that bigger government (and bigger taxes, and gargantuan, fund-consuming legislation) can meet every need and that the federal government is best equipped to make decisions that affect all Americans.

In "A Declaration about America's Fiscal Crisis," Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, Director and Senior Fellow of Concerned Women for America's (CWA) Beverly LaHaye Institute, lays out the argument as to why it is imperative for Congress to "Cut, Cap and Balance" as a precursor to any vote to raise the debt limit.

1. Cut: Substantial cuts in spending that will reduce the deficit next year and thereafter.

2. Cap: Enforceable spending caps that will put federal spending on a path to a balanced budget.

3. Balance: Congressional passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — but only if it includes both a spending limitation and a super-majority for raising taxes, in addition to balancing revenues and expenses.

CWA will be hosting a Hill Briefing and Webinar in the near future to highlight the hard choices Congress needs to make to get our fiscal house in order. Watch for additional details shortly!

Take Action:
1. Please click here for Dr. Crouse's executive summary and entire report.

2. Click here for a handy set of talking points based on Dr. Crouse's report.

3. Please share the links with your friends and family.


Concerned Women for America
1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 488-7000
Fax: (202) 488-0806