The president’s (read the transcript here> debt reduction speech was both good and bad. He told us he would stand up to the Republicans and refuse to sign legislation that would end Medicare. He told us that slightly higher taxes for the very wealthy would not harm them or the country and he was correct. Then he wandered into a wilderness that included “the Vice President will begin regular meetings with leaders in both parties with the aim of reaching a final agreement on a plan to reduce the deficit by the end of June.”
What happened to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (also called Bowles-Simpson). That was a Presidential Commission created in 2010 by President Barack Obama to identify “…policies to improve the fiscal situation in the medium term and to achieve fiscal sustainability over the long run.” The commission first met on April 27, 2010. A report was released on December 1, 2010, but failed a vote on December 3 with 11 of 18 votes in favor, with a supermajority of 14 votes needed to formally endorse the blueprint.
Do we really need another group to study the issues? At the very least Bowles-Simpson was headed by two highly respected former government leaders. It’s not that Joe Biden is not respected but he is the current Democratic Vice President.
If the Joe Biden committee delivers real reform by reaching compromise with Republicans than the effort will be worthwhile but is that likely? Not in the present environment.
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