On March 10, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget hosted a terrific event entitled America at a Crossroad: The Human Side of the Fiscal Crisis. The event was made possible by the MacArthur Foundation. The event goes into two reasonably likely but different scenarios. In Scenario One, we risk "Fiscal Gridlock", in which our policymakers do not change our current fiscal path. (Our debt is now projected to rise forever, which experts consider unsustainable).. In Scenario Two, our leaders enact a fiscal recovery package, which would put us back on a sustainable budget track.

There were four different panels: The High Cost of Doing Nothing for Everyday Life and the U.S. Economic Future, The High Cost of Doing Nothing for the Generations and the Vulnerable, what the United States can learn from other countries who have gone or are going through fiscal. The event brought together an all-star cast of experts and key players, who offered valuable perspectives on our fiscal challenges. The event reminded us that there is very powerful motivation to move forward sooner rather than later: most people would be less well off if our leaders failed to put this nation back onto a sustainable fiscal path, and took action only when forced to do so in a crisis. When we fiscal wonks talk about problems related to our unsustainable debt-to-GDP ratio, we are in fact talking about real people and their lives.

You can follow the event on twitter at #fiscalchoices.

This event is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.