Fiscal Responsibility

Alison Acosta Fraser - Page 1

Alison Acosta Fraser is an economist for the Heritage Foundation where she is the director of Domestic Economic Policy Studies. Early in Alison's career she worked in fiscal and budget policy for the County of Orange in California, which gives her a unique perspective on today's national budget crisis. "After working there for 11 years I left the position and then came back on staff only to have the county file the largest municipal bankruptcy in the history of the country three months after my return," Alison says chuckling a bit at the irony. "Timing is everything. But it was an incredibly interesting and fascinating experience. I wouldn't want to wish it on anybody because it was extremely stressful. You had many, many people losing their jobs and you had the FBI investigating. Very stressful; I did not spend a lot of time with the family during those months and did not eat very well. But professionally, it was a very interesting experience especially in terms of human behavior. To watch how true leaders responded and seeing the different motivations at play."

Trying to understand motivations is a big part of being an economist. "I don't look at problems just in terms of math because a lot of it is behavioral as well," says Alison. "But I do try and break things down in order to look at what incentives are, human behavior, market based behavior, and things like that." From a dollars and cents perspective we often change laws and only look at the simple arithmetic. "But if you don't look at how an individual, an entrepreneur, a business or an investor is going to respond to that change, then you're missing the big picture."

Helping members of Congress or the White House see the big picture is one of the things the Heritage Foundation does. "Heritage Foundation is a conservative public policy organization (a.k.a. think tank). Our goal is to have relevant, timely information into the hands of people in Congress, whether those are members or staffers that will help them understand the issues they are considering." Alison adds that while they are a conservative organization that does not mean they are a Republican organization. "We are a non-partisan organization. Typically when people think conservative they think Republican and when they think liberal they think Democrat. But you know, we will work with anybody where we are aligned, where we have similar goals. Conversely, where we see policies going in areas that are not right or worrisome, we will criticize them. We've actually had some very contentious discussions both in the Congress as well as with the administration about fiscal policy and about domestic economic policy."

Alison's road to Washington, DC started in Southern California where she grew up. "Not only did I grow up near the beach in California but I also grew up sailing. We would take many vacations on our sailboat and go over to Catalina Island. My dad also loved to skin dive so he would, I guess you would say-catch-abalone. We would have famous abalone parties where all of our boating friends would come over to our boat and my dad would cook up batch after batch of this fabulous sautéed abalone with white wine and garlic sauce." Her dad got her involved in the preparation of the precious mollusk. "I have many memories of sitting in the cockpit of the boat with homemade pounding blocks and wooden mallets. He would slice it thin and we would pound it much like you would veal. It has to be extremely thin and then cooked in very hot oil and butter. First you egg it and bread it then sauté it very quickly so it doesn't toughen up."

When they weren't on the boat, her mom ran the family kitchen. "The lion's share of cooking was done by my mom. My parents passed on to my brother and me a real love of exploring any kind of food. I grew up always thinking my mom was a very good cook and I still feel that today. Now my dad had a couple of signature dishes he would cook for us. One of which I still make today and that was a really mean steak au poivre recipe." Though they lived on the beach, family dinners were important. "We always had a family table," says Alison. "After we moved to the beach my dad had a bear of a commute but it was always a priority with my family that we would eat together. That's how I grew up, with conversation and meals together."

"I certainly tried to carry that on with my kids." She has three children: Melinda (18), Charlie (16), and Julia (13). "We don't eat as well as we did when I was growing up but I always try to stay away from take-out food during the week. It's not fancy cooking but it's homemade food and sometimes the kids help out. And we sit down around the table and try to talk about our days. Okay, sometimes we cheat and sit down in front of the TV but not usually," she adds laughing.

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Article:
  Harry Zeeve: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3
  David Walker: Page 1 - Page 2
  Alison Acosta Fraser: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3
  Belle Sawhill: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3
  Chris Swann: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3
  Carl Tannenbaum: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3

Recipes:   Lemon Chicken | Rachel's Omelet | Corn Pudding | Marinated Filet Mignon | Asian Pork Tenderloin and Coconut Jasmine Rice | Grilled Chicken Breasts | Steak au Poivre | Pretzel Salad | End of Spring Beef Stew | Chicken Tarragon | Roasted Sweet Potatoes | No Bowl Cake | Chris and Aunt Mary's Stromboli | Aunt Pat's Pizza Meat | Cracchiola Family Sauce | Chris's Baked Ziti | Aunt Eleanor's Spedini | Post-Thanksgiving Gumbo | Singapore Rice Noodles | Red Chili and Orange Barbecue Sauce | Tandoori-style Grilled Chicken