Summary of the Fiscal Commission by Simpson And Bowles

From Dec. 2010

This is their summary of how to reduce the country's budget deficit. Their recommendations are more or less a list of cuts in the number of federal workers; increasing the costs of participating in veterans and military health care systems; increasing the age of Social Security eligibility; and major cuts in defense and foreign policy spending. They also encompass a range of tax system reforms that have been floated by many in Washington for years to little effect, including funding tax rates reductions by eliminating many beloved credits and deductions.

Some of their recommendations:

Social Security cuts:

• Increase the retirement age to age 69.
• Lower cost of living increases.
• Reduce benefits by 2050 for middle and higher earners.
• Increase the Social Security contribution ceiling from the first $106,800 to 90% of all wages.

Tax reform:

• Capping both government expenditures at 21% of GDP.
• Reduce the tax brackets to three personal brackets and one corporate rate to 8, 14 and 23 percent and eliminate the mortgage interest deduction.

Medicaid/Medicare cuts

• Force more low-income individuals into Medicaid managed care and increase Medicaid co-pays.
• Accelerate cuts to Medicare Advantage and home health care programs.
• Create a cap for Medicaid/Medicare growth, if the system encounters cost overruns over the course of 5 years then the   Congress and the President will increase premiums or co-pays or raise the Medicare eligibility age.
• Tort reforms (a negligent or intentional civil wrong) as a way to reduce Medicare and Medicaid expenditure

Discretionary spending cuts

• Eliminate all earmarks.
• Eliminate the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
• Freeze federal worker wage increases through 2014; eliminate 200,000 federal jobs by 2020; and eliminate 250,000 federal non-defense contractor jobs by 2015.
• Eliminate subsidized student loans, in which the government makes interest payments while the student is in school.
• Eliminate NASA funding for commercial space flight.
• Require the Smithsonian museums to start charging entrance fees and raise fees at the national parks.
• Reduce farm subsidies by $3 billion per year.
• Create a Committee to eliminate unnecessary programs to the tune of $11 billion by 2015.
• Merge the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration and cut their budget by 10 percent.
• End "low-priority" Army Corps of Engineers programs to the tune of $1 billion by 2015.
• Cut the State Department's overseas budget by 10 percent by 2015; reduce the proposed foreign aid budget by 10 percent in 2015; and cut voluntary contributions to the United Nations by 10 percent in 2015.
• Eliminate the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, which provides subsidized financing and political risk insurance for U.S. companies' investments abroad.
• Cut $900 million in fossil fuel research funds.
• Force airlines to increase their contributions to airline security costs and allow them to increase per-ticket security fees.

Defense spending cuts:

• Double the number of defense contractor positions scheduled for elimination from 10 percent to 20 percent.
• Reduce procurement by 15 percent, or $20 billion.
• Eliminate the V-22 Osprey program.
• Cancel the Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program.
• Halve the number of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in favor of F-16s and F/A-18Es.
• Cancel the Marine Corps F-35 program.
• Cancel the Navy's Future Maritime Prepositioning Force.
• Cancel the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), the Ground Combat Vehicle, and the Joint Tactical Radio.
• Reduce military forces in Europe and Asia by one-third.
• Send all military children based in the U.S. to local schools.

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