Compromise likely with super-committee

With the news focused on the Occupy Wall Street protests and other newsworthy topics, some have forgot about the super-committee that was born of the early August debt ceiling deal. However, the special debt reduction committee has been long assembled and is hard at work.

WASHINGTON DC (Catholic Online) - Democrats have jump started the process by pushing the bipartisan panel to begin pursuing a massive deal to cut $3 trillion from the federal budget over the next 10 years. Their proposal presented before the committee included cuts to health and retirement programs, and about $1.3 trillion in new taxes.

Democratic Senator Max Baucus has urged cooperation within the committee. He called upon his Republican colleagues to accept his offer which would cut $500 billion to Medicare and other health programs, use a different method of calculating Social Security benefits, and provide as much as $300 billion in new stimulus for the economy.

Republicans have already rejected that offer. Senior Republican aides are saying that the tax and stimulus provisions are unacceptable. The Republican contingent counter-offered Wednesday with their own plan to reduce the debt without raising taxes.

The issue of taxes it appears to be the perpetual impasse that will threaten the odds of success for the group. Democrats want to raise taxes, and Republicans are flatly refusing. In reality, a compromise measure will have to be presented if there is to be any hope for success.

The good news is that both sides are talking. And although they are remaining true to their ideological base, there appears to be a growing sense that some compromise will be necessary.

Both sides appear determined to reach an agreement before the late November deadline. In the event that an agreement is not reached, the debt ceiling deal from August mandates that automatic, draconian spending cuts, particularly in the areas of defense and entitlements, go into immediate effect. Such an occurrence is said to be politically unpalatable to both parties, so analysts believe a compromise will ultimately be found.

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