Well, they tried. That’s probably the nicest thing that most people will say about the President’s deficit panel, which published its final report and disbanded. Government finances are in no better shape than they were yesterday, possibly worse. Chaired by Alan Simpson (former Republican Senator from Wyoming) and Erskine Bowles (former Clinton White House Chief of Staff), the panel tried to get people to at least think outside the box on taxes and spending. They started with lofty goals and a real world determination to change the discussion about government spending. They failed to get their package of changes approved by their self-imposed super-majority of the members, but did get a majority to sign-on to approach the budget from a different perspective. Read more