Here Comes A New U.S. Deficit Reduction Plan

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The men who, two years ago, pushed to make deficit reduction happen are at it again.

A bipartisan commission Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles co-chaired produced a deficit reduction plan two years ago that was talked up by both sides in every major political discussion leading up to Election Day – but nothing was ever really agreed upon and done.

So the dynamic deficit duo has come up with something new, according to Politico:

The new plan from Bowles, a former chief of staff to Bill Clinton, and Simpson, a former GOP senator from Wyoming, would reduce the deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to POLITICO’s Playbook. The Bowles-Simpson plan would cut $600 billion from Medicare and Medicaid, $600 billion in new tax revenue from ending or curbing deductions and breaks and $1.2 trillion in cuts to discretionary spending, along with cuts in cost-of-living increases for Social Security, the farm program and civilian and defense retirement programs.

The plan really does split the difference on a lot of issues – Republicans want $4 trillion in cuts, the White House wants $1.5 trillion. The White House wants less cut from Medicare and Medicaid, and House Republicans want no new revenue.

Will this plan get any further than the last one? Guess we’ll have to wait and see, but you have to admire the tenacity of Bowles and Simpson. You can read the whole thing online.

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