Let the debt debate begin

In the days to come, no matter what you think of the blueprint they produce, listen to what the commission members say, and what its chairmen say, about how much time we have to create a plan to trim our deficits and target a path to eventual solvency. As Ireland and Greece and Britain struggle, all eyes are on Portugal and Spain and it could be our turn soon enough. The United States can no longer borrow our way into dependence on the Chinese and we can’t pretend we are detached from the forces of the global economy. Other countries are in crisis and we can be too, in short order. As Sen. Kent Conrad told The New York Times, “if we fail to act now, our country could find itself in a circumstance in which we have to take draconian action at the worst possible time, in the midst of a crisis.”
 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has already called the commission’s recommendations “unacceptable.” Now the unions are coming on strong — against the plan. In The Huffington Post, AFL-CIO Deputy Chief of Staff Thea Lee said the suggested tax code changes in the plan would enhance outsourcing, and the president of the United Steelworkers called the plan “fiscal insanity” on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” Wednesday.
 
{mosads}Andy Stern, who sits on the commission and is a former president of the SEIU, agreed in a statement that there are concerns over “territorial taxation” that could shift jobs overseas, and he recommended that a mechanism be developed by the Treasury to make sure that any new system does not “accelerate job loss.”
 
Outsourcing is a genuine concern, and there will be many others. But every group that is fighting these recommendations should instead engage by coming to the table to find alternatives. Both parties fear voter anxiety over cuts to entitlement spending since recent polls show roughly 70 percent of Americans don’t want to see cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or defense spending — the bulk of the budget. But entitlement spending can no longer be the holy grail or the third rail, it must head to the chopping block sooner or later or we will drown.
 
Facing down the debt crisis, and accepting reality, isn’t for the faint of heart. But it cannot be faked. The politicians who work to actually resolve it, by accepting hard choices regardless of the political pain it will exact, will be our true public servants.
 
Who are they? Pay close attention.
 
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WHY IS A HOUSE VOTE ON EXPIRING UPPER BRACKET TAX CUTS A GAME? AskAB returns next week. Please join my weekly video Q&A by sending your questions and comments to askab@digital-staging.thehill.com. Thank you.