News In Brief

What’s ahead for fiscal reform

Kai Ryssdal Nov 10, 2010

This final note today about the deficit. The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform made some news this afternoon. That’s the panel the president set up back in February to figure out a way to cut the red ink.

Today the two co-chairs of the commission — a Republican and a Democrat — released their draft report. Congress will eventually have to approve any of this, but the draft says we should look at getting rid of the home mortgage interest tax deduction. We should raise the gas tax and control how much Medicare is growing. And get ready for changes to Social Security. Eventually.

The recommendation is to raise the regular Social Security retirement age to 68 in about 2050, and to 69 in — wait for it — 2075.

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