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Sadly, as the New York Times pointed out, the Republican plan is nothing more than what Bowles, who has since disavowed its math, touted last year. With Republican heads in the sand, it is no wonder they have not woken up to the reality that Americans want a more fair tax structure. By that I mean that the top 2% of American wage earners pay a higher percentage of taxes than the bottom 98%. Do not balance the budget on the backs of America's middle-class, disabled, poor, sick and uninsured.

a serious proposal? heh. This is a hybrid of the Romney proposals and Ryan budget. Their proposals were rejected on Nov. 6. And no matter what Republican aides say, Erskine Bowles said "the approach outlined in the letter Speaker Boehner sent to the President does not represent the Simpson-Bowles plan, nor is it the Bowles plan."

Which begs the question... why did they walk away last year?

Me to boss - "Boss, you need to give me a pay raise because I'm paying more than I can afford on my bills." Boss: "That wasn't planned for in the budget this year, you should think about making a couple of cuts on things that aren't really necessary." Me: "But boss, I can't do that, the kids have a long list of toys that they want for XMas and my wife is pressing for a new car this year." How do you think that conversation is going to go?

Same old same old. Democrats propose exactly what they campaigned on (and won). Republicans roll out the old tired budget proposals they campaigned on(and lost). Lets cut to the chase Pubs! Make a realistic proposal or hang on for the ride.

a serious proposal? heh. This is a hybrid of the Romney proposals and Ryan budget. Their proposals were rejected on Nov. 6. And no matter what Republican aides say, Erskine Bowles said "the approach outlined in the letter Speaker Boehner sent to the President does not represent the Simpson-Bowles plan, nor is it the Bowles plan." ================ Their proposals were accepted by nearly half of America. Obama and his policies were not given a mandate by the American people. The guy barely won. Half of America wants to get our country back into shape, where the liberals who voted for Obama want to keep cruising to the cliff's edge.

If you went back 2000 years to the time of Jesus and spent one million dollars a day until now that would still be less than the $787 billion dollar stimulus package that Obama passed under a Democrat controlled Congress the first few weeks he was in office. According to the IRS roughly 227,000 people earned one million dollars or more in 2009. Even if you collected all the income from all of them including the billionaires at a tax rate of 100 percent you still wouldn't even come close to balancing the budget or paying off the $1 trillion-plus dollar deficits that Obama has given the country every year he has been in office. There is simply not enough "rich peoples money" to make a dent against Obama's binge spending. Why hold the nation hostage for something that will have no meaningful impact??

@Doctor2, no question where that discussion will end up, however, there's a fatal flaw with your argument. The government isn't a business. Governments can generate their own income at will, companies and people cannot. Therefore, the government SHOULD cut it's spending if necessary like normal people, but it DOESN'T HAVE TO ASK for more money like the rest of us do. The U.S. government simply refuses to take more money for the purpose of saving itself from itself.

Of course Obama is pressing for additional tax increases and appears to be balking at the GOP spending cuts because Obama want to increase spending and to cut anything. Give me the fiscal cliff thank you.

Raising the retirement age and medicare age is not acceptable. No one should have to work untill they drop. I think means testing is a more equitable way to ensure programs survive. Taxing capital gains would go a long way toward ensuring the super rich pay their way if they have no "wage income". Closing some loop holes allowing GE and the like to owe no taxes would also help. Don't crush middle America by eliminating the mortgage deduction either. Just a few thoughts, clearly everyone should share in the burden in some way. Maybe a low flat tax for all would be better than what we have now. It would certainly add tax payers to the rolls. How much would 2-5% bring in?