(From Jean Johnson, jjohnson@publicagenda.org)

Citizens from the Panama City, Florida area gathered to consider priorities for the U.S. federal budget at a National Issues Forum on held on October 9, 2014.

The forum was convened by Gulf Coast State College and the Panama City chapters of the League of Women Voters, and Daughters of the American Revolution. Participants weighed the pros and cons of the sequester, options for reining in defense spending, and the future of Social Security and Medicare in a lively conversation moderated by Virginia York, Terry Jack, and Liz Trentanelli.

Gulf Coast State College president John Holdnak welcomed the forum participants, encouraging them to remember--as they met to exchange views on our country's problems and challenges--that this is an opportunity that simply doesn't exist in many parts of the world today.