Fiscal Responsibility

Belle Sawhill - Page 2

Not so for her mom however. "She was very smart, very funny, though she did not like all that outdoorsy type of thing," recalls Belle. "She used to call the place my father had in Canada 'Little Alcatraz.' There was no phone and in the beginning, no electricity. It was fairly primitive. She liked her creature comforts and she also liked her friends and it was pretty isolated."

She learned to cook from her mom, though these days, finding time to cook can be difficult. "I am involved in a huge number of things. Anyone will tell you that. Up until September I was a vice-president and director of Economic Studies at Brookings. In addition to that I'm a senior fellow and one of the hats I wear is a co-director of the Center for Children and Families at Brookings." About ten years ago she also helped start a non-profit organization in Washington called The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, of which she is still president of the board. "So I'm constantly running around doing this stuff and I don't have time to cook."

Like her father, she likes to get away from Washington and enjoy the great outdoors. Rather than an island in Canada, Belle chose a mountain in Colorado. "We're a big skiing family. We have a ski place in Steamboat Springs." Her late husband, John Sawhill, passed away about six years ago and was also a lover of the outdoors. "He was president of The Nature Conservancy, a very large environmental organization. Before that he had several other interesting jobs including being president of New York University (where Belle earned her PhD) and Deputy Secretary of Energy in the Carter Administration." In addition to skiing, Belle gets to try her hand at angling, just like the old days on "Little Alcatraz" in Canada. "We're right on a lake and a river and the fishing there is fabulous."

Steamboat is also where Belle gets to do most of her cooking. "I like good food and I like having friends over and I will cook on vacation or when I'm having guests. As an economist I have to be efficient with my time." Belle laughs, "I have a lot of friends and relatives who are better cooks than I am. I like to have them over and I like to, particularly out in Steamboat, when people are staying with me, get into doing a group thing in the kitchen. Either we will cook a meal together or one person will take charge one evening and produce some fabulous feast and we'll all enjoy it."

On the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour Belle's segment is titled "Why Deficits Matter and What Elected Officials Need to Do." In Columbus, Ohio she was lucky enough to have her teenaged grandson, John Sawhill (named after her husband) in the audience. As she introduced him she showed a picture of him on the golf course and he received a nice round of applause. "So they're clapping for you now," said Belle, "but what you don't know is that you're not going to be able to afford all those golf balls and nice golf games in the future because you're going to be paying off the debt that people in my generation and your parent's generation created for you. So... good luck."

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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