Deficit targets: Social Security, mortgage breaks
Andrew Taylor, Associated Press – 32 mins ago

*** No more interest deduction for your house on your tax return!!!!

WASHINGTON – In a politically incendiary plan, the bipartisan leaders of President Barack Obama's deficit commission proposed curbs in Social Security benefits, deep reductions in federal spending and higher taxes for millions of Americans Wednesday to stem a flood of red ink that they said threatens the nation's very future.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS ATE LISTED HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The plan would gradually increase the retirement age for full Social Security benefits — to 69 by 2075 — and current recipients would receive smaller-than-anticipated annual increases. Equally controversial, it would eliminate the current tax deduction that homeowners receive for the interest they pay on their mortgages.

*** Proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare

*** The plan would also raise the regular Social Security retirement age to 68 by about 2050 and to 69 in 2075.

*** Beneficiaries would receive smaller Social Security payments

*** The amount of income subject to Social Security taxes would be increased.

*** Increasing the gasoline tax by 15 cents a gallon to finance transportation programs.

*** The proposal would eliminate a host of popular tax credits and deductions, including the child tax credit and the mortgage interest deduction.

Even with the dramatic proposals, the Bowles-Simpson plan would leave deficits of about $380 billion in 2015, the year by which Obama tasked the group with balancing the federal budget, except for interest payments on a national debt that now stands at $13.7 trillion. If the changes to Social Security are dropped, the deficit would be about $400 billion in 2015.

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Associated Press writers Martin Crutsinger, Stephen Ohlemacher, Tom Raum and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.

That's fine.

Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll......Glad that is fine .... as this is now.....so now you have to add alittle to make it worse for every year until you retire.....as this will be nothing compared to all the changes that are going to happen over the next 40 years......

SO TIMES THE ABOVE BY SAY INFINITY!!!!!! AND YOUR TAX RATE WILL BE 99.987654321 %.

I hope so.

Glad you are happy as I need you to keep working so my pension and other retirement checks keep coming in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!

Will do.

The article fails to mention that the proposal, which is still in draft phase and is unlikely to get the needed votes (I think it is 14/18 of the members), also simplifies the tax system in two 3 brackets which are lower than current brackets. It would also end the alternative minimum tax as well as lower corporate taxes.

It would also cut the federal workforce by 10% by, I think, 2020. It also calls for raising social security benefits age by 2050 to 68 and 69 by 2075.

Look, there are some good and some bad things in the proposal, but it is not as if it is all terrible. It might at least give both sides some cover for making some real and serious cuts.

I don't understand why it would take til 2075 to raise the retirement age to just 68. I mean, no one WANTS to raise it, but we obviously need to. We're living so much longer nowadays.

There should just be a small incentive for those who are willing to wait til age 70, and then officially change it in 15 years.

Raise the retirement age to 72 rite noa.