Facing the Future Show Archive

The Concord Coalition’s “Facing the Future” program is kicking off a series of interviews with Sept. 11 primary candidates in New Hampshire’s First and Second Congressional Districts.

The program originates on WKXL NH Talk Radio in Concord, New Hampshire. Republican and Democratic candidates will answer questions about their policy priorities and plans regarding federal fiscal policy and related issues.

“It is totally irresponsible that nobody is focusing on the debt, because it is our biggest problem,” said former Congressman Chris Shays.

Shays joined me on “Facing the Future” to discuss how being a candidate and a member of Congress have changed since he first took office in 1987. Shays, a Republican, represented Connecticut’s Fourth District until 2009.

The latest episode of Facing the Future is all about you, our listeners. The Concord Coalition’s Executive Director Robert L. Bixby and Policy Director Josh Gordon answered questions submitted via e-mail and social media.

One listener submitted a question through Facebook concerning the different measurements of the national debt.

“The two main measures of the debt, in terms of dollar figures, are the ‘debt held by the public’ and what we call ‘the gross federal debt’,” said Gordon.

“When you are in power... you are hesitant to change the status quo because you don’t know what the consequences may be,” said former U.S. Rep. Charlie Bass.

Andrew York, a Millennial financial planner in New Hampshire, fears the country is heading for “a big family fight” over federal budget priorities.

“You’re going to have the parents fighting the kids over who’s paying for what,” he predicts.

On last week’s episode of “Facing the Future”, I was joined by York and Alexandria Sosnowski,  who are both members of The Concord Coalition’s New Hampshire Advisory Board. Sosnowski, also a Millennial, is an attorney.

“The story we expected and the story we got was that the shortfall was becoming a more urgent situation,” said Charles Blahous, a former public trustee of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds about the latest reports on the programs’ finances.

Congress, he added, “is running out of good options for dealing with it.”

“I think our issue is in outer space at the moment,” said Robert L. Bixby, executive director of The Concord Coalition.

The fiscal challenges facing our nation, and the lack of attention given them, seem unreal. Add in vast and expansive numbers, and you may have the beginnings of a work of science fiction.

“As we look at keeping discretionary spending under control we do want to be careful and maintain a fiscally responsible approach, but we don’t want to cut the heart out of things that are needed for investment or national security,” said Robert L. Bixby, executive director of The Concord Coalition.

On the latest "Facing the Future" episode, Bixby joined the program to discuss discretionary spending and entitlement programs.

“I remember sitting, looking at the national debt clock projected on the smart board and realizing how much of an issue this is,” said Brittany Brown, a top ten finalist in the national “Up to Us” competition to encourage fiscal responsibility.

“In only a few years we will be spending more servicing our past debt than we will investing in our future,” Marc Goldwein, senior vice president for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), said recently.

Former U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes discussed fiscal responsibility, the need for bipartisanship, and his House experiences in the latest episode of “Facing the Future.”

During the most recent episode of “Facing the Future,” I took some time to focus on the state-level impacts of federal budget policy. The Concord Coalition recently partnered with the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute to conduct a state/federal budget exercise with class members of “Leadership New Hampshire.”

Through taxes and a wide array of programs and benefits, the federal budget affects every person and community in the country. Yet many Americans -- including some who serve in Congress or work in federal agencies -- have only limited knowledge of current budget issues and the difficult long-term fiscal challenges facing the United States.

Former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey warned recently that U.S. health care spending is on an unsustainable path as it continues a long pattern of growing as a percentage of the economy.

Guests on “Facing the Future” last week lamented new projections of trillion-dollar federal deficits beginning in Fiscal 2020 and discussed how recent tax and spending decisions had contributed to the problem.

To remain competitive and successful in the global economy, the country needs smart workforce investment and immigration reform, said former U.S. Senator Judd Gregg during the ninth episode of “Facing the Future.”

“There are countless things we can do to eat our spinach,” said Concord Coalition National Field Director Phil Smith about fixing the nation’s fiscal problems. “Politicians have taken such a short-term view of things we have to go from lurching to leadership.”

The seventh program of “Facing the Future” covered a variety of topics, including the budget process, the 2020 presidential election and funding to combat the nation’s opioid crisis. I was joined on the show by Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L. Bixby and Concord’s New Hampshire State Director Tyler Sweeney.

During the sixth broadcast of “Facing the Future,” Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L. Bixby and the newest addition to Concord’s team, Tyler Sweeney, discussed a wide range of topics, from immigration reform to civic engagement.

“Get in the game!” That was the message for young Americans that was communicated during the fifth broadcast of “Facing the Future.”

During the fourth broadcast of “Facing the Future,” we aired portions of The Concord Coalition’s recent event in Washington, “Fiscal Freefall: When Will it Stop?,” which featured Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich and former U.S. Rep. Tim Penny.

The conversation focused on the nation’s fiscal policies and how they are jeopardizing our future. Despite the nation’s challenges, however, the two former congressional colleagues expressed hope and discussed possible bipartisan solutions.

The third broadcast of “Facing the Future" focused on the need for stronger leadership in Congress on the nation’s fiscal challenges.

Former Senator Bob Kerrey and Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L. Bixby discussed the nation’s difficult fiscal challenges this week in the inaugural broadcast of Concord’s radio program “Facing the Future.”