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'Gang of Six' revives hope for big deal in stalled debt-ceiling talks

BDBoop

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President Obama's hopes for a 'grand bargain' both to raise the debt ceiling and rein in the deficit got a boost Tuesday when the Senate's 'Gang of Six' proposed $3.7 trillion in deficit reductions.

Speaking at the top of Tuesday’s regular White House briefing, the president called the senators' framework “broadly consistent” with his “balanced approach” of using both spending cuts and increased revenues to achieve major deficit reduction and thus secure congressional approval for raising the national debt ceiling. After Aug. 2, the government runs out of borrowing authority, and thus risks a potentially calamitous default.

'Gang of Six' revives hope for big deal in stalled debt-ceiling talks - CSMonitor.com

Looks like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Or it's a train.
 
I saw this today on the news. This a very good sign, especially that it came out of a bipartisan committee.

"The new plan came from the six senators who have been working on and off for months to find spending cuts and revenue increases that could win bipartisan support. They are Republican Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, and Mike Crapo of Idaho and Democratic Sens. Richard Durbin of Illinois, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, and Mark Warner of Virginia.

The Gang of Six effort eclipsed a planned vote this evening in the Republican-controlled House on a plan called “cut, cap, and balance.”


Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope for real deficit reduction yet! :sun
 
Odd isn't it. When people from opposite sides of the aisle actually sit down with one another and put everything on the table and come up with something that might actually work - and could actually happen.

Who would think THAT would be a better idea than posturing, grandstanding, and saying you absolutely won't do something - period - no way.

Heard a good quote today on the radio (and I'm paraphrasing): Ideology is about who you would like to be; Compromise is about who you are.
 
the plan closes tax-loopholes, but actually LOWERS taxes on the rich....and yet still saves $1 trillion through these methods.

It envisions tax changes that would reduce existing breaks for a number of popular items while reducing the top income bracket from the current 35 percent to 29 percent or less.

Debt hope: Obama praises 'Gang of Six' plan - Yahoo! News

someone wanna explain that to me?

how are we increasing revenue by LOWERING taxes?
 
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the plan closes tax-loopholes, but actually LOWERS taxes on the rich....and yet still saves $1 trillion through these methods.

It envisions tax changes that would reduce existing breaks for a number of popular items while reducing the top income bracket from the current 35 percent to 29 percent or less.

Debt hope: Obama praises 'Gang of Six' plan - Yahoo! News

someone wanna explain that to me?

I haven't seen the details, but it certainly implies there were some very large loopholes. And it's $1 trillion over the decade, which is only $100 Billion a year.
 
It'll be a big grand plan that raises the debt ceiling, raises tax, cuts defense and in the end, only slows spending through the 2012 election with the "promise" of future cuts 10 years from now.

It's called "Punting", and it happens every time the precipice of economic ruin comes into sight. We can only punt so many times before reality, like a gold brick wrapped in a lemon peel smashes our brains out.

Only fools would get excited about this shell game theater of the "gang of six", for it will be an all show, no meat fix.
 
the plan closes tax-loopholes, but actually LOWERS taxes on the rich....and yet still saves $1 trillion through these methods.

It envisions tax changes that would reduce existing breaks for a number of popular items while reducing the top income bracket from the current 35 percent to 29 percent or less.

Debt hope: Obama praises 'Gang of Six' plan - Yahoo! News

someone wanna explain that to me?

how are we increasing revenue by LOWERING taxes?

It does away with AMT

I don't see the democrats going back to the Reagan tax rates which this calls for.

Also this is mostly the recommendations of the debt committee Obama had.
 
So $1 trillion in higher taxes in addition to Obama Care, and $3.7 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years. Are those tax increases spread over 10 years as well?
 
Μολὼν λαβέ;1059666839 said:
So $1 trillion in higher taxes in addition to Obama Care, and $3.7 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years. Are those tax increases spread over 10 years as well?

I see no tax increases I see more tax decrease. I think much is based on the repeal of AMT and the growth that tax decreases will generate
 
how are we increasing revenue by LOWERING taxes?



Lower tax rates increase government's tax revenue | OregonLive.com

In 1921, the Coolidge/Mellon tax cut lowered the federal maximum marginal income tax rate (i.e. "taxes on the rich") from 73% to 25%. Revenue to the federal government rose by 2%. At the same time, the percent of the tax burden paid by "rich" people nearly doubled.

In 1932, the federal maximum marginal income tax rate went from 25% to 63%. Government tax revenue dropped from $834 million in 1931 to $427 million in 1932. The tax burden on people making less than $25,000 went from 21% in 1931 to 36.5% in 1932, while the burden on the "rich" decreased!
 
Basically, the US needs to add more debt because not doing so ends in collapse. And yet borrowing more will also make things worse. There is no right decision, only a decision that will slow the inevitable demise of this country.
 
This development is an indication that serious policy makers on both sides of the political aisle may be willing to work together in helping put the nation on a sustainable fiscal path. Assuming that the Gang of 6's proposal is reasonably similar to the Bowles-Simpson Commission's recommendations, it would be a substantive and constructive proposal.

Having said that, the proposal will likely be subjected to severe partisan headwinds. It is not assured to pass either the Senate or House. On one end of the ideological spectrum, progressives will likely oppose it on account of its beginning the process of revamping the nation's entitlement programs. At the other end, Americans for Tax Reform and many of those who signed its pledge, will likely oppose it because the proposal would increase revenues. That the balance of spending cuts/revenue increases is well in line with successful fiscal consolidation efforts as researched by the IMF, among others, would make little difference. To those who oppose it on ideological grounds, ideological purity would take precedence over empirical evidence.
 
so, the Gang of Six plan lowers the tax-rate on the rich, and HOPES that this leads to an increase in tax-revenue from the rich?

that's a pretty big gamble. I hope the CBO reviews this plan and confirms its predictions.
 
so, the Gang of Six plan lowers the tax-rate on the rich, and HOPES that this leads to an increase in tax-revenue from the rich?

that's a pretty big gamble. I hope the CBO reviews this plan and confirms its predictions.

It is based on the Bowles-Simpson Commission's recommendations that Obama appointed
 
The Republican leadership will not allow this to advance especially in the House. they have already made a decision that their highest priority is making sure they win back the White House and Senate in 2012 and they view the best way to do that is to collapse the economy and blame Obama for it.
 
The Republican leadership will not allow this to advance especially in the House. they have already made a decision that their highest priority is making sure they win back the White House and Senate in 2012 and they view the best way to do that is to collapse the economy and blame Obama for it.

Obama has been doing that. You can not blame the GOP because Obama will not compromise
 
The Republican leadership will not allow this to advance especially in the House. they have already made a decision that their highest priority is making sure they win back the White House and Senate in 2012 and they view the best way to do that is to collapse the economy and blame Obama for it.

if they kill this plan, and kill the USA, they will suffer in 2012.

BIG TIME
 
if they kill this plan, and kill the USA, they will suffer in 2012.

BIG TIME

I do not think so. This is not part of the debt ceiling debate at this time. This is a issue that has been in the works for months.
 
i can see lowering the corporate rate to compete with Ireland with the goal of encouraging more companies to headquarter here. that would require some serious closure of loopholes, though.

i don't believe there's a solution without some tax increases, though. our debt is serious enough to require more than theoretical Laffer curve arguments.
 
More:

What 'Gang of Six' budget framework would do - Jul. 19, 2011

Cut spending: In the near-term, the Gang of Six framework would reduce $500 billion in debt over 10 years. While the plan is silent on the issue of raising the debt ceiling, that down payment presumably could be paired with an increase in the debt ceiling, which must be raised within two weeks.

Down payment measures include imposing statutory discretionary spending caps through 2015, selling unused federal property and changing how cost-of-living adjustments to government payments and tax brackets are calculated. There would be some exceptions, such as postponing the formula change for Supplemental Security Income for five years and then phasing it in over the next five years. SSI goes to seniors and disabled people with very low incomes.

The Gang of Six also would freeze congressional pay and repeal the CLASS Act, which is part of the 2010 health reform law. It was designed for seniors who need help with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing. The program was estimated to add to deficits in its second decade and beyond.
 
This development is an indication that serious policy makers on both sides of the political aisle may be willing to work together in helping put the nation on a sustainable fiscal path.

How so? It seems unlikely that either side will work together, or put the nation on a sustainable fiscal path.
 
How so? It seems unlikely that either side will work together, or put the nation on a sustainable fiscal path.

Looking good, though.

The Gang of Six plan got a positive reception from a bipartisan group of more than 40 senators earlier on Tuesday.
 
“This is more bipartisan,” Coburn says. “‘Cut, Cap and Balance’ would work, but the fact is, you need to get the votes for it.” He calls the “Gang of Six” plan a “good first step” and hopes conservatives recognize that the $500 billion in immediate spending cuts, plus the long-term $3.7 trillion in reductions, are “real” and “buy us time to work over the next three or four years” to enact deeper reforms.
Coburn Rejoins Gang of Six - By Robert Costa - The Corner - National Review Online

PUNT! Tis a PUNT!
 
Obama has been doing that. You can not blame the GOP because Obama will not compromise

Didn't the democrats reject Obama's budget proposal? It's very amusing actually; because the Republicans refuse to raise taxes, they're the ones who won't compromise. What compromise has come from the other side?
 
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