Democrats Propose $1.5 Trillion in New Taxes (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | With the statutory deadline approaching in less than a month, congressional Democrats still have their heads buried in the sand when it comes to the federal budget.

Reuters reported Thursday that the super committee Democrats introduced a $3 trillion savings package that aims to far exceed the $1.2 trillion they are required to cut before Thanksgiving. The plan was dead on arrival, according to Republican staffers for the ultra-secret committee.

Democrats seek $1.5 trillion in new revenues from tax increases and new taxes. What part of "no new taxes" do they not understand? The House is not going to pass any new revenues - they have been perfectly clear on that all year. For Dems to present a plan that calls for 50 percent of the proposed savings to come from new revenue is a waste of breath in proposing it, and a gallant waste of time should any committee give it debate time.

The proposal doesn't have the support of all Democrats on the special committee, and is likely to have problems with the Democratic leadership. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has repeatedly said she will not consider cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, although The Hill reports she is mum on the subject today wanting to "wait until I can see the whole package." That's an interesting comment from the former speaker who insisted the Congress pass Obamacare before they knew what was in the bill.

Nearly $100 billion in Medicaid cuts are proposed, as well as long term Medicare cuts. The details were carefully omitted from leaks to the media. The cream of the plan includes another $300 billion stimulus plan.

Basically, the Democrats are proposing massive tax hikes that cannot pass either chamber. They are proposing social program cuts that even their own leadership will not support, therefore effectively killing it in the Senate. And, they are proposing new stimulus spending that Republicans will not allow to happen. The time it took to design the plan was a further waste of government spending.

House Speaker John Boehner told Seattle Times that it would be difficult to pass any plan from the super committee, but he would strive to accomplish some compromise. The clock is ticking - the committee needs to get serious and make some concerted tough decisions. Then they need to muscle it past their respective caucuses.

Dan McGinnis is a freelance writer, published author and former newspaper publisher. He has been a candidate, campaign manager and press secretary for state and local political campaigns for more than 30 years.

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Democratic Plan to Cut $3 Trillion Doesn't Mention Defense (The Atlantic Wire)

Earlier today, Democrats leaked a $3 trillion deficit-reduction package to the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Dow Jones and Reuters but in each case, one major government expense was not mentioned: defense spending. The outline of the plan, independently reported by each outlet, calls for savings though "cuts to federal entitlement programs and Medicare coupled with at least $1 trillion in new taxes." It's not clear why the Pentagon, which is on the hook for a $600 billion haircut if a deal between Democrats and Republicans isn't reached, is left out of the Democratic proposal. (Thus far, reports say the bulk of the savings will come from about $400 billion in Medicare savings and revenues from tax increases.) What is clear, however, is the aggressiveness in which military contractors are lobbying members of the Super Committee. Last week, K Street firms filed lobbying reports for the third quarter requiring them to list details such as who they represent and if they're specifically lobbying the Super Committee or "Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction," as it's officially called. The filing doesn't breakdown lobbyists by industry but we found a number of corporations that have significant defense contracts among the list of registered lobbyist clients:

Related: Debt Deal Could Slash Hundreds of Billions From Pentagon Budget

Northrop Grumman Corporation: $50,000General Dynamics: $50,000ITT Corporation: $480,000Honeywell International: $10,000Associated General Contractors of America: $130,000Accenture: $40,000IBM: $1,090,000INTELSAT: $10,000Now, it's highly unlikely that the Democrats would propose a deficit plan without any defense cuts. (The conventional wisdom in Washington is that defense cuts will be around $100 billion if a deal can be brokered.) But central to any rumored outlines has been at least a rough number of where defense cuts will come from. Today's plan gives us none. Liberals such as The Nation's George Zornick are already complaining that the Democrats' deal is a "major capitulation" that cuts too much from Medicare. But if defense cuts aren't a major factor in this $3 trillion grand bargain, that would likely produce leftward angst as well.

Related: Obama Administration Message on 9/11: It's 'Not Just About Us'

*Did we miss any defense contractors in our buletted list? View the entire list of registered third quarter lobbyists below, courtesy the Sunlight Foundation:

Related: Pentagon Looking Safe from the Super Committee's Cuts

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