A US commission charged with looking into ways of cutting the federal deficit has convened with just two months left before it must present the final report of its findings to the government.
Most analysts agree that the only way to get the federal deficit out of the red and into the black, after years of tax cuts, very costly wars and the global recession, is to reduce spending and increase taxes – never happy choices for a government to make.
In such a political climate, with elections just around the corner, making the hard decisions needed for the country may be too much to ask.
The commission, which was set up by President Barack Obama back in February, comprises 18 politicians from both parties and business figures and is lead by White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles as well as former Senator Alan Simpson.
The panel is coming under scrutiny from other angles as well, after Simpson likened social security retirement programs to “a milk cow with 310 million tits.” This angered women’s groups, who have picketed the meeting Wednesday and are calling for Simpson’s dismissal from the panel.
The budget deficit is estimated to be in the $1.5 trillion mark and nearly every issue that the commission has to face has a political constituency which will be upset if changes are implicated for that section.
“The long-term fiscal picture is just horrific ... It may take a crisis before we can break the political stalemate. I have been traveling as part of a 'fiscal solutions' tour and the public is very frustrated about the lack of action,” said Isabel Sawhill of the Brooking Institute.
