UAFS students to use ‘Debt Fixer’ to consider federal deficit reduction solutions

The basic premise behind “The Debt Fixer” is that solutions exist to address the growing federal deficit, but the solutions are tough and full of political landmines. That premise will be tested Oct. 12 when University of Arkansas at Fort Smith students collaborate on federal deficit solutions.

First National Bank of Fort Smith, UAFS and the Washington, D.C.-based Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) are hosting the event held 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Reynolds Room of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center on the UAFS campus. The event is open and free to all UAFS students.

The CRFB, formed in June 1981, is a non-partisan group that works to educate the public on federal budget issues. The group also works with members of Congress to provide analysis and other information on the country’s fiscal condition. A CRFB employee will facilitate the Oct. 12 event.

“For the last five years I’ve been a supporter and follower of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget,” First National Bank President and CEO Sam Sicard told Talk Business & Politics. “They provide excellent, non-partisan analysis of the financial impact of legislation in a concerted effort to educate both Congress and voters, with the ultimate goal of getting our country’s metastasizing federal debt under control.  Sadly, their efforts have not been successful to date in stopping Congress from perpetually making our federal government’s fiscal imbalances even worse.”

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently updated its deficit estimates with a prediction that the annual deficit would likely top $1 trillion by the end of the fiscal year. The federal tax bill approved in late 2017 is estimated to have added $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years. The CBO estimates that a proposed second round of tax cuts would add another $3.2 trillion in deficits.

According to the UAFS, students will use The Debt Fixer – an online tool provided by the CRFB – to “debate the difficult trade-offs” that would be required to put the federal budget on a sustainable path. Areas the students will consider include healthcare spending (Medicaid and Medicare), defense spending, Social Security, farm bill budgets and other domestic spending.

“We are excited to partner with First National Bank of Fort Smith to bring this unique educational opportunity to our students,” Dr. Latisha Settlage, associate dean in the College of Business and professor of economics, said in a statement. “Those attending are sure to leave with a greater awareness of current economic issues. They will also gain an appreciation of the tough choices that policymakers are faced with as they work to reach consensus.”

Congressional delegates representing the Fort Smith area and Arkansas have also been invited to attend.

Sicard said after five years of “wasted” time trying to convince Arkansas’ Congressional delegation to do more to address federal deficits, he has turned to educating voters and future voters. Working with college students “whose very futures are being mortgaged away by our federal government” seemed a logical place to begin. He said The Debt Fixer is an “excellent” tool to help voters understand complexities involved in reaching a sustainable federal budget.

“This will also be an excellent opportunity for students of differing views and ideologies to have to work together, make hard choices, and compromise to come to a solution agreed to by the majority of the group to significantly reduce our future deficits, which is how things work in the real world of the private sector and in State legislatures who have to abide by balanced budget requirements,” Sicard said.

CRFB President Maya MacGuineas said her organization is eager to work with UAFS students on the issue.

“Congress has failed to pass a budget and yet has managed to add hundreds of billions of dollars to the national debt – this is no way to run the world’s largest enterprise. Fixing our budget is key to remaining an economic superpower but it will take real leadership and confronting trade-offs in our budget. Since our political leaders are running from these choices we encourage citizens to try their hand at the Debt Fixer and show our leaders how they would fix the debt.”

The bank is providing lunch for attendees, t-shirts and prize awards.

Members of Arkansas’ Congressional delegation were invited to attend, according to UAFS.