I have
suggested before that Obama's endgame in the deficit reduction fight is basically the busted Boehner deal, which in turn looks awfully like the plan the President sketched out in April: an alleged $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10-12 years, with $800b -- $1 trillion coming from new revenue, $2+ trillion in alleged spending cuts, and close to $1 trillion from alleged reduced interest payments. Two bullet points in the White House's
outline of the debt deal struck in early August would seem to bear this out:
- ...the President will demand that the Committee pursue a balanced deficit reduction package, where any entitlement reforms are coupled with revenue-raising tax reform that asks for the most fortunate Americans to sacrifice.
- The Enforcement Mechanism Complements the Forcing Event Already In Law – the Expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts – To Create Pressure for a Balanced Deal: The Bush tax cuts expire as of 1/1/2013, the same date that the spending sequester would go into effect. These two events together will force balanced deficit reduction. Absent a balanced deal, it would enable the President to use his veto pen to ensure nearly $1 trillion in additional deficit reduction by not extending the high-income tax cuts.
