HOGAN: Colorado doing its part to urge action on fiscal policy

Our nation is at a standstill.

Despite the tremendous wealth and wherewithal we possess – both in terms of resources and intellectual capacity – as a nation we remain deadlocked in a stagnant era defined by sustained unemployment, polarized-political gridlock and an unclear vision on how to move forward.

At the crux of all of this seems to be an apparent lack of leadership. Status quo persists as a result, leaving Coloradoans and Americans alike handcuffed by economic uncertainty, unbalanced spending priorities and a $17 trillion debt.

Fortunately for those here in Colorado, the picture is much better.

A handful of current and former elected officials, business leaders, and economists have joined forces through the Colorado Chapter of the Campaign to Fix the Debt to help urge action on our nation’s most important issues. The group – which includes former Governors Richard Lamm and Bill Ritter, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and yours truly – has made tremendous headway recently in forcing dialogue on taxes, spending and budget matters.

Just last month, Governor Lamm teamed up with the South Metro Denver Chamber for a public forum attended by Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO-6) and members of the community to discuss our problems, solutions and ways to get involved. Earlier in the summer Steering Committee members John Brackney and Richard Whipple traveled to D.C. and met with Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, Rep. Coffman and the staffs of Reps. Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, Cory Gardner and Jared Polis.

The message at the Chamber and in D.C. from the campaign was the same: elected officials must come to the table to negotiate anything and everything and put our nation back on track. And despite countless pessimistic predictions for the possibility of a “grand bargain,” this fall is still a time of opportunity for our leaders – from Colorado and elsewhere – to heed our continued message, begin acting responsibly and in our interest, and at least implement some type of bargain.

As we look to seize the opportunities presented by this momentum – including the ears of the Colorado delegation – members of the Colorado Chapter believe that four markers or opportunities stand out in this discussion and have outlined some simple recommendations.

First and most urgent is the means by which we fund our government. While stopgap measures and short-term funding mechanisms are a poor way to govern, Congress should avoid a situation that results in a government shutdown and get to work on a responsible solution to the debt over the long term.

Second, Congress should use the budget negotiations to pass comprehensive tax reforms to both the individual and corporate tax codes to promote economic growth while taking real steps to address our long-term debt. It is good for the economy, competitiveness, fairness, the budget and citizens.

Next, in regard to the debt ceiling – a fiscal speed bump that gives the nation the opportunity to make changes to improve the debt trajectory – Congress should under no circumstances play games with the full faith and credit of the United States. They must raise the debt ceiling in a timely manner and not squander a rare period of opportunity to discuss this issue in an earnest and thoughtful way.

Last, leaders ought to address sequestration and implement smart budget cuts as part of a long-term deficit reduction plan. Mindless, across-the-board cuts implemented through sequestration continue to endanger the economic recovery – unnecessarily harming workers, small businesses and the most vulnerable Americans. In Colorado, we have seen this with military furloughs and cuts to the Air Force Space Command Center, reduced funding for education programs like Head Start, and scarce resources to protect our state from forest fires. Now is the time to stop playing games with sequestration and sit down and make the tough decisions necessary to replace these across-the-board, indiscriminate cuts with smart budget cuts that make sense for all Americans.

I am proud to be part of a group who continues to remind Americans and leaders alike that even with progress seen in employment and declining short-term deficits, long-term challenges such as our long-term debt problem remain. We encourage Congress and the Administration to use sequestration and the other markers to craft a comprehensive agreement and urge those in Colorado to visit fixthedebt.org to do the same.

Because now is the time to emerge from the standstill.

Steve Hogan has served as the Mayor of Aurora since 2011. He also serves on the Colorado Chapter of the Campaign to Fix the Debt Steering Committee,