30 Issues: Is The Debt Really A Crisis?
The Brian Lehrer Show | Sep 12, 2012
30 Issues in 30 Days is our election year series on the important issues facing the country this election year. Today: The actual significance of the national debt and how it might play into the election. Visit the 30 Issue home page for all the conversations.
Open Prep: Questions, Articles, and Links to Get You Started
Key Questions
- Is debt the central issue to our time, or a Tea Party distraction?
- What can we learn from the European Debt Crisis to avoid a similar situation in the U.S.?
- Is it time to revisit the Simpson-Bowles Plan?
What are your key questions on this topic? Post them below and get the conversation going!
Guests
- Alice Rivlin, former White House Budget Director and Federal Reserve vice chair, Brookings senior fellow, member of the president's deficit commission and co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC)'s Debt Reduction Task Force
- U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL 9), dissenting member of the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction committee.
30 Issues Interactive from WNYC Data News | Archive of Interactives
Links
Try the interactive game Budget Hero at the Wilson Center
Got a Follow Up?
Each Friday we'll be following up on one of that week's issues. Got a particular follow-up question from this conversation? Comment below or tweet us. Tweet to @brianlehrer
