SCHERERVILLE | Even though the national budget deficit declined for the third year in a row, it doesn't mean the long-term fiscal outlook is rosy, said Corey Davison, of The Concord Coalition.

The bottom line is we have promised ourselves more than we can pay, Davison said Tuesday at the Briar Ridge Country Club while speaking to the Schererville Rotary Club.

In the short term, the United States relies on China to buy bonds to keep us afloat. And in the long term, if nothing changes, we'll rely on our children.

"Economists agree that we can't grow our way out of this," Davison said. "The national debt concerns your taxes and your kids' future."

The Concord Coalition began in 1992 as a grass-roots, nonpartisan group that champions the need for a balanced budget.

During what the group refers to as the Fiscal Wake Up Tour, members have been touring the country encouraging voters to challenge presidential candidates on how they intend to fund such government programs as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

"We need to be asking each candidate who's going to pay for it and how?" Davison said.

It's reckless and shortsighted to think we can continue cutting taxes without cutting programs or the converse -- continuing to fund programs at the current rate without raising taxes, according to the coalition.

Even though Davison spoke to a crowd of less than 20 on Tuesday, every opportunity to talk about the need to engage the public in the fiscal responsibility debate is important, Davison said.

Joe Gomeztagle, of Dyer-based Midwest Business and Economic Research Group LLC, attended the talk.

"This is something we need statewide," Gomeztagle said. "We need to collaborate ideas to get the public to get involved in the debate."