A couple years back two dudes, Simpson and Bowles, got together with a group of guys and had a commission that was suppose to be an alternative to the bullsh*t of the budget debate…….it was a complete failure! Even the prez who created the commission did not take any of their advice for the argument on the deficit….I other words it was a complete waste of time and energy……(go figure….a waste coming out of Washington)…….
Their first plan was a bust ….so what to do next? How about another budget plan?
The former chairmen of President Obama’s 2010 fiscal commission, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, on Friday will release a new deficit reduction plan in the hopes of reviving a debt grand bargain this year.
The two-step plan has about $800 billion more in spending cuts than President Obama is seeking and $1.1 trillion more than Senate Democrats have proposed, while adopting roughly the same amount of new taxes from tax reform called for in Obama’s 2014 budget.
The new Bowles-Simpson plan calls for $585 billion in tax revenue from a reform process that starts by eliminating all deductions — then adds back in only those most needed — adopts a territorial tax system and maintains progressive tax rates. This is less than the $975 billion in tax increases in the Senate budget.
By their measure, the newest Bowles-Simpson plan will achieve $5.2 trillion in deficit reduction including laws enacted since 2010, compared to $4.3 trillion in reductions in the Senate-passed budget and Obama budget. Both of these calculations assume that $1.2 trillion in automatic sequester cuts are going to be turned off.
Bowles and Simpson say that their plan will bring the national debt down from 78 percent of the economy to 69 percent of gross domestic product. This compares to 70 percent for Senate Budget, 73 percent for Obama and 55 percent for the House-passed budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
The Ryan plan balances without raising taxes by cutting $4.6 trillion in spending, while keeping the $1.2 trillion sequester in place.
The vast majority of the cuts would come from Medicare. Medicaid is largely insulated, except for a plan to eliminate a tax that some states use to drive up the federal government’s share of Medicaid payments.
The new plan would expand Medicare’s means testing — charging wealthier seniors a higher premium — an area where Republicans and the White House agree.
There you have a synopsis of the ‘new’ plan…..but will it be as worthless as tits on a boar…..kinda like their first attempt?
