Go big

We have called for at least $4 trillion in savings because it is the minimum amount of deficit reduction necessary to stabilize the U.S. debt and put it on a downward path as a percentage of gross domestic product. A package that achieved $1.5 trillion in savings would generate a great deal of opposition from affected constituencies but would still leave in place a large and growing debt burden…

The president has said that he won’t support major cuts to entitlements unless the package includes additional revenue, but the opposite must be true as well. The president must be willing to support real savings in entitlements that deal with long-term costs. We can’t simply cut or tax our way out of this problem. Bringing our debt under control will require tackling the growth of entitlements and reforming the tax code to promote economic growth and generate enough revenue to meet our commitments.