New Ad Campaign Names and Shames Washington’s ‘Deficit Squawks’
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
JUNE 24, 2021
PRESS CONTACT:
New Ad Campaign Names and Shames Washington’s ‘Deficit Squawks’
Masquerading as Objective Watchdog Helps Right-Wing, Corporate-Backed Organizations Block Critical Funding and Gut Social Safety Net
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, a coalition of nearly twenty progressive advocacy groups launched a new ad campaign naming and shaming Washington’s so-called ‘deficit hawks.’ The Stop Deficit Squawks ad campaign calls out groups like the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), Americans for Prosperity, and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) that masquerade as “objective” watchdogs on federal spending. In reality, these groups are conservative actors protecting their corporate, right-wing funders’ dangerous agenda.
The ad campaign will invest six figures in print and digital ads in the Washington area, including on the Metro and in key papers and tipsheets.
For years, the ‘deficit squawks’ have tried to create a self-described “artificial crisis” and block critical investments in middle and working class Americans. The new ad campaign will show policymakers in Washington that these groups are corporate-backed, right-wing actors who seek to slash our social safety net, block equitable public investments like those in the American Jobs and Family Plans, and push corporate interests above those of the American people.
"We shouldn't allow misguided and manufactured fears about deficits and debt stifle another recovery," said Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative. "It's time for the government to deliver critical investments for the people who power our economy, not corporate interests.
“Don’t get it twisted—squawking about deficit spending serves to reinforce the status quo of racial and gender inequality in America,” said Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Vice President of Programs and Strategy at the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. “Notice the squawks only come out when we are talking about putting resources towards programs that will lift up women and people of color. The road to an inclusive recovery includes an unabashed focus on investing in the people of America.”
“We face multiple crises that need immediate attention, and the debt is not one of them,” said Doug Norlen, Economic Policy Program Director at Friends of the Earth. “We need to make major investments to protect our planet and communities, and ensure that there is a healthy future for our children. We simply cannot afford to listen to groups who push manufactured fears about the deficit.”
“If you want to know why these deficit squawks are squawking about public spending, you need look no further than their funders,” said Maura Quint, Executive Director of Tax March. “These groups are led by wealthy, white elites who are funded by corporations, swanky Wall Street firms, Big Oil—you name it. They are pushing their funders’ corporate, right-wing agenda, not the American public’s best interests.”
“Deficit squawks have no credibility when it comes to debating economic issues,” said Morris Pearl, former managing director at Blackrock, Inc., and Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires. “For decades they have raised deficit concerns over policies that improve the lives of people who work for a living, while remaining silent on increasing the deficit for massive tax cuts that favor wealthy people and big corporations. Deficit Squawks only muddle the economic debate by pushing false narratives to scare Americans into appeasing the rich. They must be ignored this time around.”
"Recovering from COVID and the recession it caused demands large-scale public investments in our communities, infrastructure and economy," said Margarida Jorge, Executive Director of Health Care for America Now (HCAN). "We cannot allow these deficit squawks to gut the safety net when we need it most—Congress must pass President Biden's American Jobs and Families Plans swiftly. Our nation's health, our jobs, and our families are on the line."
"Deficit squawks are mortgaging our country's future by worrying about the deficit, instead of investing in our communities right now," said Craig Johnson, Senior Advisor at Blue Future. "With so many threats to our future, raising phony deficit worries in bad faith to reduce investment in our future is a clear sign that these deficit hawks don't care about our families, our jobs, or our safety net."
“These groups used fear mongering to try to undermine the public investments in the American Rescue Plan, which would have left millions of good paying jobs on the table,” said Zac Petkanas, senior advisor to Invest in America. “They can’t be allowed to take an axe to the American Jobs and Families Plans now, which will put people back to work, help our nation compete with China and create a sustainable, equitable economy for future generations."