Many Ways to Stay Involved

August 4th, 2010

By Joe Goldman, AmericaSpeaks

AmericaSpeaks will ensure that the priorities expressed at the June 26 National Town Meeting are heard by leaders in Washington. Already, we have briefed dozens of members of Congress and their staffs. We will also continue to work with local groups across the country to help strengthen our democracy by convening diverse groups of Americans on other topics.

You can stay involved by watching for new articles and updates at the Our Budget, Our Future blog, hosting your own conversation on the nation’s fiscal future, and sharing your story about participating in the National Town Meeting with others.

You can also join or follow one of the many policy and advocacy organizations that are working on this issue from across the political spectrum. Take a look at the groups below (listed in alphabetical order) and sign up to join any of them that address your priorities and point of view. Let us know if there are other important groups that are missing from this list.

• American Enterprise Institute: A conservative think tank that is “committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise.”

• Bipartisan Policy Center: “The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a non-profit organization that was established in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell to develop and promote solutions that can attract public support and political momentum in order to achieve real progress.”

• Brookings Institution: A left-of-center think tank that focuses on three areas: “strengthen American democracy; foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans; and secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system.”

• Center for American Progress: A liberal think tank that is “dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action.”

• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: A left-of-center think tank that focuses on budget and tax policy to “help ensure that policymakers consider the needs of low-income families and individuals.”

• Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: An initiative of the New America Foundation that seeks to educate the public about fiscal issues and is made up of past Directors of the Budget Committees, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget and the Federal Reserve Board.

• Concord Coalition: A “grassroots organization dedicated to educating the public about the causes and consequences of federal budget deficits, the long-term challenges facing America’s unsustainable entitlement programs, and how to build a sound foundation for economic growth.”

• Economic Policy Institute: A liberal think tank that seeks to “broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers.”

• Fiscal High Road: A project of Demos, The Century Foundation, and the Economic Policy Institute to “help strengthen social insurance programs and develop a roadmap for a fair and responsible federal budget.”

• Heritage Foundation: A conservative think tank that seeks to “formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.”

• National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform: President Obama created the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to address our nation’s fiscal challenges. The Commission will produce a report to Congress in December.

• OurFiscalFuture.org: A website hosted by the National Academy of Public Administration and Public Agenda to compliment a report about reducing long-term deficits by the NAPA/NRC Committee on the Fiscal Future of the United States, called Choosing the Nation’s Fiscal Future.

• Peter G. Peterson Foundation: A foundation with the mission to “increase public awareness of the nature and urgency of key economic challenges threatening America’s future and accelerate action on them.”

• Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center: A joint project of two left-of-center think tanks, the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, which “provides timely, accessible analysis and facts about tax policy to policymakers, journalists, citizens, and researchers.”

Take some time to follow or join any of these organizations to stay informed and engaged.

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