A reader sends me this link to a very interesting blog post by Keith Hennessey.
Hennessey does a side-by-side comparison of the Conrad/Gregg and White House commissions. He shows effectively that the White House commission is vastly inferior to the Conrad/Gregg’s commission.
He also shares his doubts about the senators’ approach. He writes:
I am torn on whether to support the Conrad-Gregg proposal. I instinctively don’t like it. I fear that this structure would lead to huge tax increases. I lean against Congress delegating their authority, and generally abide by the maxim that “the problem isn’t the process, the problem is the problem.” But I do feel comfortable saying that Conrad-Gregg is an intellectually honest and credible commission proposal, albeit one that might lead to a policy outcome that I would hate. If you are going to create a commission like this, then this is the most balanced proposal I have seen so far.
This is a post worth reading. I will continue to oppose this effort. Republicans have been down that road before and it only produced tax increases without spending cuts.
(H/T to Catherine Behan, too)