How Many People Other Than Obama Think A "Grand Bargain" Is Feasible?

     In an interview with the Des Moines Register President Obama said that he was hoping for a "grand bargain" after the election that would include $2.50 of budget cuts for every dollar of tax increases which would reduce budget deficits by $4 trillion. He did not mention Social Security as a possible target for budget reductions but it is essentially impossible to get budget reductions that large without cutting Social Security.

     Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO, however, set down his marker in a Politico piece with the unambiguous title "Americans Don't Want Grand Bargain." Trumka says that he could not disagree more with cuts in Social Security and Medicare.