Fix The Debt

Stella Adams, an affordable housing and social justice advocate from Durham joined a diverse group of concerned individuals from across the country to converge on Washington, DC, to call on lawmakers to address the rapidly approaching fiscal cliff and the country’s long-term federal debt problems.  Adams joined representatives from eight states urging immediate and meaningful reforms to protect the U.S. economy.

"If the United States goes off the fiscal cliff, it is projected to send the economy back into a recession. Another recession will further delay recovery for those hardest hit by the recession -- the middle class, low wealth families, and the most vulnerable," said Adams.

Robert Ingram, former CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, who is co-chairing the North Carolina Steering Committee noted, “Running a business is never easy.  It becomes even more difficult when the future is as uncertain as it is today. The fiscal cliff is looming and it will not bode well for the economic success of this country if the U.S. Congress allows us to go over it. Investment and growth will fall sharply as the country deals with spending cuts and tax hikes, which are promised if a deal is not reached by January 1.”

Today, the national debt exceeds $16 trillion and continues to grow. On January 1, the country faces a hazardous combination of spending cuts and tax expirations – known as the “fiscal cliff” – that the Congressional Budget Office predicts would cause the economy to shrink in 2013.