Blog

“Fix the Debt” portrays itself as a nonpartisan group designed to convince government to do something drastic about the national debt, which it says is a significant danger to the country. And despite widespread evidence from economiststhat their proposals would hurt the economy, Fix the Debt’s members are pushing for a set of policies based on tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans and benefit cuts to lifelines like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

But new research from the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) exposes the group for what it really is, a “front” for billionaire Peter Peterson:

“The effort is being bankrolled by one of the wealthiest men in the nation. Peterson made a fortune at the Blackstone Group on Wall Street. He conveniently cashed out with $2 billion shortly before the 2008 financial meltdown and now has pledged to spend $1 billion of that payout to convince Americans—who overwhelmingly want to keep and strengthen Social Security and Medicare—that these programs threaten our very existence as a nation.”

CMD has launched a number of new resources to reveal the truth about Fix the Debt. In addition to an article that takes a closer look at Peterson’s role in the organization, a host of other tools for digging deeper into the Fix the Debt facade are offered:

• A chart of conflicts of interest of Fix the Debt members.
• A wiki looking at the full scope of the organization.
• Lisa Graves’ article on Peterson’s Long History of Deficit Scaremongering.
• John Nichols taking a look at The Austerity Agenda: An Electoral Loser.
• Dean Baker describing Fix the Debt’s Fuzzy Math.
• Mary Bottari examining Peterson’s Puppet Populists.
• And numerous other resources.

The resource is vital for anyone attempting to understand what’s really going on with the austerity push in Washington, D.C.:

“Today, CMD is pleased to unveil—in partnership with The Nation—a new resource on the Campaign to Fix the Debt for the public and the media, that exposes the leaders, the Peterson-funded partners, the phony state chapters, the lobbyists and the stunt men (who convinced Alan Simpson to dance Gangnam Style) behind this massive PR effort.”

***

This has been reposted from AFL-CIO.

Posted February 24, 2013 at 12:00 pm, in Allied Approaches, From AFL-CIO