Did Obama's debt panel waste its time?

The Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction commission has issued its final plan, but is it so controversial it will simply be ignored?

"The era of debt denial and its consequences are over," said Erskine Bowles, co-chair of Obama's deficit-reduction panel.
(Image credit: Getty)

The chairmen of President Obama's bipartisan deficit-reduction panel, former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) and Clinton budget official Erskine Bowles, released their final report on Wednesday, urging big cuts in military spending and Social Security along with the elimination of popular tax deductions. But the proposals won't go to Congress without the approval of at least 14 of the panel's 18 members, and so far only two, Sens. Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Kent Conrad (D-ND), have said they'll vote yes on Friday. After months of effort, has the commission's work been for naught? (Watch Neil Cavuto say the panel should be commended)

The tax changes are deal-killers: Simpson and Bowles have at least achieved "the fruits of true bipartisanship," says Ed Morrissey in Hot Air — both parties hate the proposals. Personally, I don't see anything "outrageous or surprising," and some ideas, like raising the retirement age, "should have been done years ago." But "the elimination of two major tax breaks," especially the home-mortgage deduction, "will almost certainly doom this proposal."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us