OK, the supercommittee needs to go home for the weekend. According to my colleague Paul Van de Water:
Republicans on the supercommittee have made a new offer that would reduce deficits by $640 billion over the next decade, according to news reports (here and here). The Republican offer consists of roughly $542 billion in spending cuts and $3 billion in revenues, meaning the ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases in the plan is 181 to 1…When one includes the $900 billion in discretionary spending cuts already enacted in the Budget Control Act, the plan’s total deficit reduction rises to about $1.445 trillion, and its ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases rises to 481 to 1.
The D’s have rejected the offer as…um…unbalanced.
Clearly, the debate question should have been “Would you accept a deal containing $181 of spending cuts in exchange for every $1 of tax increases?”
I do see two positive signs in this offer, however. First, it shows there is a ratio of tax hikes to spending cuts at which some Republicans will accept tax hikes. Second, it shows there is a ratio at which Democrats won’t. These are good things.
you do understand that the supercommittee no longer has time to have a plan scored by the CBO & back to them by monday so they’d have the required 48 hours to review it, dont you…
this supercommittee has been moot most of this week; & with $600 billion of sequestered cuts to defense, i expect the hawks will attempt to rewrite the budget control act starting next week..
Does anyone know/remember what is supposed to happen if the supes don’t come to an agreement? I seem to recall some pretty drastic SS/M/M cuts are in store.