Deficit reduction plan takes heavy fire

That didn't take long.

President Obama's deficit reduction panel, chaired by Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson, released an outline of its recommendations Thursday, and it immediately took heavy fire from left and right. Nobel economics winner Paul Krugman condemned the proposal and the co-chairmen in a New York Times column. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declared the proposed fix unworkable.

To be certain, the proposal from the committee involves some painful medicine. To be certain, to do nothing about the $1 trillion-plus federal deficit and rapidly growing national debt means chronic economic illness and eventual collapse of the American economy. Bowles and Simpson attempted to address the problem by wounding everyone's sacred cows. They propose raising the Social Security retirement age and reducing Social Security cost-of-living increases; eliminating the mortgage interest deduction; reducing the costs of Medicare and Medicaid by updating the health care systems for the elderly and poor; raising taxes to increase revenue; and other solutions.

None of these proposals are inviting, but here's the rub: The alternative — doing nothing — is unsustainable. America cannot continue to run huge deficits and pile on debt that will cripple the prospects of our grandchildren and their grandchildren. Sooner or later, we have to reduce our expectations of government (and the cost of government) and pay for the government services we receive while we receive them. It can be done. Barely a dozen years ago, the federal government was running a surplus and projected budget surpluses well into the future. Since that time, we have reduced taxes and sharply increased spending.

We can't continue on the present course. Congress has to take action. If the Bowles-Simpson plan can't be passed, come up with a better idea; but eliminate the deficit.