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Schakowsky Introduces Deficit-Reduction Plan
Congresswoman offers alternative to Simpson-Bowles plan, says it will cut deficit by $427.8 billion by 2015.
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky introduced a plan to reduce the federal deficit $427.8 billion by 2015, her office announced. The plan, introduced Tuesday in Washington, D.C., calls for both enhancing revenue and cutting expenditures, and will not reduce Social Security benefits, the Democrat said.
Schakowsky, a member of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, represents the 9th Congressional District, which includes all or parts of Evanston, Skokie, Morton Grove, Niles, Des Plaines, Glenview, Wilmette and Chicago.
Schakowsky's statement said the plan introduced last week by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, co-chairs of President Obama's fiscal commission, places too heavy a burden on the middle class, and she designed her own plan to protect lower- and middle-class Americans.
Her plan includes five highlights:
1) Increased economic stimulus to spur growth in the immediate term.
2) Targeted spending cuts in non-defense discretionary and defense discretionary spending.
3) Mandatory spending cuts by bringing down the cost of health care to the federal government, cutting agriculture subsidies and other measures.
4) Raising $132.2 billion by closing tax subsidies for certain businesses.
5) Increasing revenues by raising $144.6 billion through estate tax reforms, allowing the Bush tax cuts for the top two brackets to expire and identifying where the private sector is underpaying.
Do you think Schakowsky's plan is workable and reasonable?
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David
7:15 am on Friday, September 21, 2012
This woman has got to go. 13 years in Congress enough. Go get a job where you have to get up in the morning and go to work, worry about whether you will keep your job or not With no special congressional health care. . After 13 years in government the best she can do with the deficit in the TRILLIONS is reduce it by $427.8.
Danni
10:23 am on Friday, September 21, 2012
To David-wow-we have some genius ideas here from JS-don't you especially like the "certain businesses" in #four? I suspect these "certain" businesses will be the lemonade stands so those rightist juveniles pay THEIR fair share and those garage sales wherein people are liquidating possessions for income. Then these "reductions"-does JS understand the difference between millions, billions and trillions?;of course-just great-print money for stimulus-that's worked so far, not; and more, more taxes and then cut farm subsidies to depress the impetus to produce food. All brilliant ideas if you want to excelerate the decline of a once great country. And by the way, what are discretionary defense spending items? Is that anything like all the security for all of the Obama family vacations, as in defending the President and Valarie Jarrett at Martha's Vineyard, where she is currently resting after an exhausting run of running the government?