The Deficit Commission

co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson today released the 'chairman's mark' or their draft of the Deficit Commission report. This is a serious and broad-ranging proposal. All the brave politicians elected to Congress last week on platforms of dealing with the deficit and fiscal responsibility are currently running for the hills. I am travelling and reading it on my Droid (really) so it will take me awhile. Quick thoughts are

• that I don't prefer their Social Security options, but am willing to listen. I would rather raise the Medicare age than the Social Security age.
  
• They put tax expenditures, and notably the tax exclusion of employer paid insurance front and center. I am a big fan of this.
  
• And they talk of expanding the cost cutting aspect of PPACA, like the Independent Payment Advisory Board.
  
• They have some fairly detailed tax reform initiatives, notably around limiting many tax exclusions and simplifying the code. I am with all this in spirit....will need to pour through the details.
  
• If we are going to address/change the corporate income tax (which is a relatively small source of revenue and very uneven in terms of actual rate paid) I would prefer abolishing it than reducing it. If you just reduce Conservatives will say it wasn't low enough, that is why it didn't create jobs....
• More later after I read closely.