Erskine Bowles

Alan Simpson Lashes Out At GOP 'Madness'

Posted 05.27.2012

Read More: Politics News, Video, Erskine Bowles, Simpson-Bowles, 2012 Election, President Obama, Elections 2012, Gop, Grover Norquist, Alan Simpson, Slidepollajax, Americans for Tax Reform, Debt Commission, Republicans, Politics News

Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) lashed out at members of his party on Sunday, slamming them for their unwillingness to compromise on proposed tax in...

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Deficit Reduction: The Great Distraction

Dean Baker | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: Deficit, Deficit Commission, Social Security, Erskine Bowles, Peter Peterson, Budget, Simpson-Bowles, Tax Cuts, Deficit Reduction, Business News
Dean Baker

When we hear Erskine Bowles and his friends rant about the deficit this week, we should remember that once again they are distracting the public from the country's real problems. And this crew is at the center of those problems; it is not the solution.

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CEO Backs Controversial Plan

The Huffington Post | Luke Johnson | Posted 05.04.2012

Read More: Simpson Bowles, Video, Erskine Bowles, Occupy Wall Street, Jamie Dimon, Alan Simpson, Occupy, Bowles Simpson, Politics News

JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Thursday backed the Simpson-Bowles proposal, which cuts entitlements, other spending and raises taxes to reduce the...

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'We Face The Most Predictable Economic Crisis In History'

Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Simpson-Bowles Commission, Erskine Bowles Economic Crisis, Video, Erskine Bowles, Bloomberg View, William D. Cohen, Simpson-Bowles, Economic Crisis, Erskine-Bowles Commission, Business News, Tax Reform, Business News

Bloomberg View: Erskine Bowles, a true Southern gentleman and co-chairman of President Barack Obama’s erstwhile budget-deficit commission, came...

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The Bowles-Simpson Medicine Show Is Back in Town

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 03.29.2012

Read More: Deficit Commission, Alan Simpson, Jim Cooper, Erskine Bowles, Bowles-Simpson Rejected, Bowles-Simpson, Bowles-Simpson-Plan, Politics News
Richard (RJ) Eskow

As soon as one pitch ends, another begins. So this ain't over, folks, because every good medicine-show pitchman knows: You gotta keep on offering the crowd that "grand bargain" until you wear 'em down and they buy it.

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Simpson-Bowles Plan Dealt Huge Bipartisan Rejection

AP | ANDREW TAYLOR | Posted 03.29.2012

Read More: Simpson Bowles, Video, Erskine Bowles, Simpson-Bowles, House GOP, Simpson Bowles Rejected, Deficit Reduction, Budget Deficit, Latourette Cooper, Alan Simpson, Simpson Bowles House, Politics News

WASHINGTON — The House voted decisively late Wednesday to reject a bipartisan budget mixing tax increases with spending cuts to wring $4 trillio...

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Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Bowles-Simpson Commission Report

Dean Baker | Posted 05.05.2012

Read More: Alan Simpson, Erskine Bowles, Medicare, Social Security, Federal Budget Deficit, Budget, Bowles-Simpson Report, Bowles-Simpson Commission, Business News
Dean Baker

Parents often find it useful to tell their children about non-existent creatures to instill habits of good behavior. It seems that many political leaders are going the same route.

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The American Business Community's Collective-Action Problem

Charles Kolb | Posted 03.07.2012

Read More: Mohamed El-Erian, Alan Simpson, Erskine Bowles, Gillian Tett, Andrew Liveris, David Cote, Ceos, Business News
Charles Kolb

Many observers question whether today's business leaders have a heart when it comes to their role in the country's growing income disparity. A more appropriate question might be to ask whether they have a head.

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A Fateful Weekend for U.S. Fiscal Stability

Bill George | Posted 01.22.2012

Read More: White House, Obama Deficit Reduction, Congress, Standard & Poor's, Supercommittee, Deficit Commission, Democrats, House Republicans, Obama White House, Deficit, National Debt, Erskine Bowles, Federal Budget Deficit, Simpson-Bowles, House Democrats, Financial Crisis, Alan Simpson, Deficit Supercommittee, Politics News
Bill George

The fate of the fiscal stability of the United States was sealed on the weekend of December 4-5, 2010.

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Raising Medicare Eligibility Age Erodes Social Security Benefits, New Study Shows

Daniel Marans | Posted 01.04.2012

Read More: Deficit, Social Security, Medicare Eligibility Age, Erskine Bowles, Health Care Reform, Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Health Care, Politics News
Daniel Marans

A proposal to increase the Medicare eligibility age, which the Super Committee is considering, would drive up health care costs to the point where they would consume almost half of the Social Security check of a middle-class retiree.

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Super Committee Supercollides Over Taxes for Rich

Meredith Bagby | Posted 01.03.2012

Read More: Supercommittee, Erskine Bowles, Alan Simpson, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Barack Obama, Politics News
Meredith Bagby

Thus far, the Committee has been largely secretive about negotiations. What we do know comes from leaks and this week's first public hearings.

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Killing Us Softly

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 11.13.2011

Read More: Robert Rubin, Medicare Retirement Age, Alice Rivlin, Alan Simpson, Austerity Economics, Go Big Letter, Erskine Bowles, Laura Tyson, Deficit Commission, Politics News
Richard (RJ) Eskow

We're seeing the demonization of the victim everywhere. It's in the public hatred for underwater homeowners and now reaches to the highest halls of power in both parties, where we told that helping struggling homeowners would be "rewarding the undeseverving."

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Senator Rubio's Fact-Phobic Social Security Speech

Merton Bernstein | Posted 11.06.2011

Read More: Social Security Trust Fund, Senator Marco Rubio, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Erskine Bowles, Social Security Funding, Social Security Sustainable, Social Security Contributions Cap, Alan Simpson, Senator Mark Warner, President Reagan on the Proper Role of Government, President Lincoln, Proper Role of Government, Gang of Six, Productivity Improvements, Politics News
Merton Bernstein

Senator Rubio's recent speech on Social Security was political fun and games. If we take it as serious analysis and policy prescription, millions of Americans and the economy would pay a terrible price.

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Motion Picture Association Of America Downgrades United States' Rating From PG-13 To NC-17

Spencer Green | Posted 09.30.2011

Read More: Motion Picture Ratings, Credit Ratings, Debt Ceiling Talks, Erskine Bowles, National Debt, Roger Ebert, Debt Ceiling, George Lucas, Dvds, Democrats, Republicans, Special Edition Dvds, Motion Picture Association of America, Comedy News
Spencer Green

"We're sorry to have to make this adjustment," said MPAA spokesperson Morton Isherwhile. "But, in recent months it has become clear that the United States' content is only appropriate for very limited audiences."

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Deficit Hysteria: Washington's War on the Young

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 08.22.2011

Read More: Medicare, Deficit Commission, Alan Simpson, Austerity Economics, Social Security, Erskine Bowles, Politics News
Richard (RJ) Eskow

The inevitable result of austerity economics would be a plan to hand the next generation a nation with crumbling infrastructure, collapsing government services, and bleak economic prospects. It's an all-out assault on the future of the young.

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Alan Greenspan: U.S. Debt 'Scared' Me Into Supporting Tax Increases

James Sunshine | Posted 08.03.2011

Read More: Debt, Erskine Bowles, Debt Ceiling, 112th Congress, Federal Reserve, Paul Krugman, Squak-Box, Medicare, Alan Greenspan, Medicaid, Paul Ryan, Barack Obama, Paul Ryan Budget, Video, Business News

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan is afraid, but not of unemployment, nor a stagnating economy. He's scared of the federal debt. "We a...

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Ryan Grim

WATCH: Alan Simpson Attacks Social Security, AARP

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 07.06.2011

Read More: Video, Social Security, Erskine Bowles, Investment Company Institute, Aarp, Obscene Gesture, Alan Simpson, Deficit Commission, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Alan Simpson’s cold relationship with AARP is no secret, but the former Republican Senator from Wyoming took it to a new level Friday....

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Ryan Grim

Senate Dems Fired Up At Kent Conrad

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 07.03.2011

Read More: Debt, Tom Coburn, Social Security, National Debt, Erskine Bowles, Barbara Boxer, Slash Mob, Ben Cardin, Kent Conrad, President Barack Obama, President Obama, Budget Fight, Gang of Six, Medicare, Debt Commission, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats are furious at their lead budget negotiator for crafting a blueprint that they think moves the party too far to the rig...

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The President's Deficit Speech: Time to Keep Up the Pressure

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 06.13.2011

Read More: Social Security, Rep. Paul Ryan, Erskine Bowles, Deficits, Simpson/Bowles, Alan Simpson, Medicare, Barack Obama, President Obama Speech, Obama Speech, Obama Deficit Speech, President Deficit Speech, President Speech, Politics News
Richard (RJ) Eskow

The president's speech marked a brilliant return to what might be called his "holographic" style. Like a hologram, his speech was evocative and shimmered with light. But like a hologram, what you see depends on where you stand.

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It's Sink or Swim Together

Lanny Davis | Posted 06.13.2011

Read More: Deficit, Erskine Bowles, National Debt, Federal Budget Deficit, Budget, Alan Simpson, Deficit Commission, Politics News
Lanny Davis

Both American political parties must know that you cannot seriously reduce the debt and balance budgets without taking on Social Security, Medicare and other entitlements head-on, as does Simpson-Bowles.

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Why Do Unions Want to Hurt Job Creators?

Gary Shapiro | Posted 06.07.2011

Read More: Taxes, Repatriation, Consumer Electronics Association, Gary Shapiro, Deficit, Leo Gerard, Erskine Bowles, Afl-Cio, The Comeback, Deficit Commission, Richard Trumka, Unions, Business News
Gary Shapiro

Why do unions oppose repatriation, a proposal to allow a lower tax rate for a defined time period for U.S. companies seeking to bring money earned overseas back into the country, as a solution to stimulate the economy?

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For Adults Only

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Deficit Commission, Pete Peterson, Washington Post, Alan Simpson, Erskine Bowles, Gang of Six, Politics News
Richard (RJ) Eskow

The American people aren't afraid of tough choices as part of the budget debate, but they know the difference between play-acting and the real thing. And they're still waiting for somebody to talk to them like one adult to another.

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The Ministry of Truth: New Fronts in the War on Social Security

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: 1984, Social Security, Erskine Bowles, George Orwell, Mark Warner, Ministry of Truth, Moment of Truth Project, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Alan Simpson, Saxby Chambliss, Peter Peterson, Gang of Six, Politics News
Richard (RJ) Eskow

Every Orwellian campaign needs a compliant press, and the Social Security Slashers led by Pete Peterson have been particularly lucky (or effective) in this area.

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Fixing Social Security: Ted Nugent Speaks Truth to Power

Eric Laursen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Al Gore, Social Security, Tea Party, Erskine Bowles, Ted Nugent, Testicle-Lockbox, Nietzsche, Glenn Beck, Alan Simpson, Republican Party, Lockbox, Politics News
Eric Laursen

Ted Nugent, the "Motor City Madman" of '70s hard rock, has a plan to fix Social Security: eliminate it. And make workers under 45 pay to wind it up. With enemies like this, does Social Security even need friends?

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Obama's Minimalist Budget

Will Marshall | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: 2012 Budget, Budget, Fiscal Commisssion, Barack Obama, Maya MacGuineas, Social Security, Erskine Bowles, House Republicans, Budget Deficit, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Medicare, Medicaid, Paul Ryan, Politics News
Will Marshall

President Obama's new budget is a highly tactical exercise in fiscal minimalism. But sooner rather than later, he'll have to step up and lead on entitlement reform.

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