November 12, 2010
THE UR COULD SHOW HE'S SERIOUS ABOUT THE DEFICIT...:
Deficit Panel Leader Tweaks White House (JANET HOOK and JOHN D. MCKINNON, 11/12/10, WSJ)
The Democratic co-chairman of a deficit-reduction panel convened by the White House said that the blueprint he unveiled Wednesday was the product of lengthy discussions with Republicans, and he appeared to question past efforts by the administration to engage with the GOP on fiscal matters."I told people in the White House I had spent more time listening to people in the opposition party than they had done as a whole group," said Erskine Bowles, in an interview the day after he and Republican co-chairman Alan K. Simpson released a proposal for deep spending cuts and broad tax changes touching almost every aspect of the federal budget. [...]
Although the plan drew criticism from the political left and the right, complaints from liberal Democrats were especially pointed. A proposal to raise the Social Security retirement age rankled liberals, who this fall gathered the signatures of more than 200 Democratic lawmakers and candidates urging the commission to reject cuts in retirement benefits. Democrats said the plan was skewed toward spending cuts, which accounted for about 75% of the projected savings.
....by making Mr. Bowles his chief of staff.
