Walker Responds To Criticism From Greenwich Democratic Leader

Bill Gaston, vice chairman of the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee, attacked Bridgeport resident David Walker, former U.S. comptroller general, in a Hearst Newspapers commentary, writing: It may seem like ancient history now, but it was the drumbeat of alarmist prognostications from the likes of Mr. Walker, CEO of CAI, and the duo of Simpson-Bowles that led Congressmen from both sides of the aisle to warn their constituents that our economy was going to hell in a handbasket unless the debt and deficit dragons were slain. To put our house in order, Mr. Walker and his confreres had their sacrificial lambs all lined up: repealing the Affordable Care Act, block-granting Medicaid, raising taxes on Americans just above the poverty line, and further means-testing entitlements.

Gaston had prefaced his commentary with …

Ending with a faint whimper rather than a bang, the Comeback America Initiative (CAI), founded by former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker and dedicated to getting America’s fiscal house in order, abruptly closed up shop Sept. 20. In an e-mail to his followers, Mr. Walker said his organization was discontinuing operations so he could “spend some time with my family and consider future options.”

What happened to CAI?

Full commentary here.

Walker issued this response:

Ignorance and apathy are a toxic mix and Mr. Gaston obviously suffers from both. He is ignorant about why the Comeback America Initiative (CAI) discontinued operations and the impact that it had. As I stated in the announcement that Mr. Gaston referred to, I made a commitment to my wife 15 years ago to try achieve a better balance between work and family and to dramatically reduce my travel by October 2013.

I kept my promise to my wife and CAI’s Board and people who know me well were aware of my plans to do so several years ago. In addition, CAI demonstrated in its unprecedented “$10 Million a Minute” national fiscal responsibility bus tour in 2012 that at least 77 percent of a representative group of voters would support the type of sensible, nonpartisan and non-ideological reforms that are included on CAI’s web site at www.keepingamericagreat.org.  CAI’s and my prior efforts over the past 10 years have also resulted in a tripling of public concern over America’s structural deficits and dysfunctional government. Mr. Gaston is also ignorant of CBO’s and GAO’s long-range fiscal projections. Both nonpartisan agencies have warned that, despite a reduction in short-term deficits, the U.S. is still on an imprudent and unsustainable fiscal path. Restoring fiscal sanity will require social insurance reforms, rationalizing health care promises and reducing related cost growth, and achieving comprehensive tax reform.

As many economists of different political stripes have agreed, we need a plan that will reduce public debt/GDP to 60 percent within 10-15 years and be on a path to keep it there over time absent a declared war or depression. The truth is, Mr. Gaston is not an expert on the subject of his piece. In addition, by his title his is clearly a highly partisan person. The “bottom line” is that people like Mr. Gaston represent politics as usual and are part of the problem rather than solution. If people want to get the facts and make up their own mind, they should check out CAI’s web site.