As the U.S. gross national debt topped $34 trillion, groups across the political spectrum continue to call for a fiscal commission to address the mounting federal debt.
The thinking behind the idea is that a bipartisan commission could help facilitate agreement on difficult fiscal issues. However, few see such a commission as a panacea for a problem with deep roots and politically controversial solutions.
The last major fiscal commission, the U.S. National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, commonly referred to as Simpson-Bowles for co-chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, first met in 2010. It recommended a combination of tax increases and spending cuts, but the full framework was never implemented. A move to bring the proposals to Congress for a vote fell short.
One problem with Simpson-Bowles was that it didn't require a vote, said former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, who has been called the Paul Revere of fiscal responsibility. Walker is an advisory board member for Main Street Economics, a group that wants to educate Americans about the nation's debt crisis.
