Three Steps Toward a Grand Bargain on the Federal Budget: View

Prompted by the looming expiration of the debt ceiling, President Barack Obama and both parties’ congressional leaders say they have made progress on a deal that sets the course for shrinking the federal budget by $4 trillion over 10 years, with a mix of tax increases and spending cuts, including from the big entitlement programs. Also on the table is an overhaul of corporate and individual taxes.

This has all the makings of a grand bargain to reduce the national debt -- if the president and lawmakers, who plan to meet over the coming weekend, can pull it off. Already, the parties’ political bases are looking to slow down any deal that would cut entitlement programs (angering staunch Democrats) or raise taxes (alienating conservative Republicans). They should be ignored, and not just because the pain has to be spread. It’s just not possible to find enough savings in the discretionary portions of the federal budget alone.