Today, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles will put out a new deficit-reduction plan. The pair served on President Obama's fiscal commission in 2010, and presented a plan to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff – a plan that was so focused on austerity, that 350 economists co-wrote and published a letter rejecting it. And Simpson-Bowles are at it again.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the new plan will aim to reduce the deficit by $2.4 trillion over 10 years, and include $600 billion in spending cuts to programs like Medicare and Medicaid. That's $200 billion more cuts than Obama said he's willing to accept in any plan. When Simpson-Bowles released their original plan, The AFL-CIO said “there's nothing 'fair and balanced' about the Simpson-Bowles budget plan...” and that it would, “ultimately increase unemployment, cut Social Security, tax workers' health benefits and scapegoat federal employees while giving more tax breaks for sending jobs overseas.”
This new plan is likely just a carbon copy of the first, and it's exactly the opposite of what we need to do to fix our economy, and grow the middle class. President Obama acknowledged this during his State of the Union speech saying, “we can't cut our way to prosperity.” That's right. Because no nation, in the history of the world, has ever cut its way to prosperity. And we shouldn't even worry about deficits at a time our economy is still struggling.
Stop the Republican austerity. Call Congress today and tell them to reject the Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction plan.
Listen to The Thom Hartmann Show Monday through Friday 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
