Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles on Debt and Deficit Reduction

Former Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY) and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles talked about the “fiscal cliff” at the Christian Science Monitor breakfast for reporters at the St. Regis Hotel. They co-chaired the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, producing a framework referred to as the Simpson-Bowles plan for debt and deficit reduction. Topics included the possibility of the country “going over the fiscal cliff,” the consequences of that, the partisan politics being played with the negotiations, and the need for compromise.

“Fiscal cliff” referred to the impending tax increases and sequestration budget cuts at the end of 2012 if Congress failed to reach a new budget agreement. “Sequestration,” a legal procedure in which automatic budget cuts are triggered, was agreed to in the Budget Control Act of 2011.

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