...In November, after the midterm elections, a draft plan was released by the chairmen, Erskine Bowles, the president of the University of North Carolina system and a former White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, and Alan K. Simpson, a former Republican Senate leader from Wyoming. It called for deep cuts in domestic and military spending starting in 2012. It would overhaul the tax code, eliminating or reducing the $1 trillion a year in popular tax breaks for individuals and corporations and using the revenues mostly to slash income tax rates but also to reduce deficits. And to make Social Security solvent for 75 years, it would raise payroll taxes for the affluent and reduce future benefits, including by slowly raising the retirement age for full benefits to 69 from 67 by 2075. They said the plan would reduce deficit spending by about $4 trillion over the coming decade....
When the debt is addressed in a real way and the country is 'producing' higher revenues again, this can be redressed. That can be written into the bill when these measures are passed. In other words, there can be 'tests' to the national debt that would 'trip' Congressional challenges to re-examine the progress of the nation's debt and deficit and reconsider some provisions for change.
Playing political brinkmanship over The Annual Budget is hideous.
When the debt is addressed in a real way and the country is 'producing' higher revenues again, this can be redressed. That can be written into the bill when these measures are passed. In other words, there can be 'tests' to the national debt that would 'trip' Congressional challenges to re-examine the progress of the nation's debt and deficit and reconsider some provisions for change.
Playing political brinkmanship over The Annual Budget is hideous.
The federal debt increased $54.1 billion in the eight days preceding the deal made by President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R.-Ohio) to cut $38.5 billion in federal spending for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, which runs through September.
It is time to get serious. We need to pass legislation, not more brinkmanship over the debt ceiling. That isn't going to get us anywhere, it certainly didn't do a darn thing during the budget mess.
