The Moment of Truth Has ArrivedDec 01, 2010
Update 12/3/2010: The commission fell short of a formal recommendation with 11 of the 18 commission members voting to back the proposal. A supermajority of 14 votes was needed to formally endorse the blueprint. (Source: The Washington Times)
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released its long-anticipated report today. The report, The Moment of Truth, can be downloaded here. The full commission will vote on the report this Friday.
The report outlines a six-part plan to put America “back on a path to fiscal health, promote economic growth, and protect the most vulnerable among us”.
The key components of the plan include:
- Achieving nearly $4 trillion in deficit reduction through 2020, more than any effort in the nation’s history.
- Reducing the deficit to 2.3% of GDP by 2015 (2.4% excluding Social Security reform), exceeding President’s goal of primary balance (about 3% of GDP)
- Sharply reducing tax rates, abolish the AMT, and cut backdoor spending in the tax code.
- Capping revenue at 21% of GDP and get spending below 22% and eventually to 21%.
- Ensuring lasting Social Security solvency, prevent the projected 22% cuts to come in 2037, reduce elderly poverty, and distribute the burden fairly.
- Stabilizing debt by 2014 and reduce debt to 60% of GDP by 2023 and 40% by 2035.
The commission was very clear that the proposed plan is only the beginning of larger conversation and action plan. The preamble states:
We do not pretend to have all the answers. We offer our plan as the starting point for a serious national conversation in which every citizen has an interest and all should have a say. Our leaders have a responsibility to level with Americans about the choices we face, and to enlist the ingenuity and determination of the American people in rising to the challenge.
The task was certainly an epic one, and the commission should be thanked for their time and energy in creating this document which will hopefully begin a serious discussion on the debt issue.
Have you read the report? What are your thoughts? Use the comments section below to let us know.