Throughout the day today we will see a lot of analysis of the debt deal. Here is the Whitehouse fact sheet on the deal.
Here are some interesting details that I’m reading:
- The deal assumes expiration of the Bush tax cuts at the end of 2012. In order to extend them, they would have to find >$4T in extra cuts.
- This makes the ratio of cuts to revenue 2:1 – better than the 4:1 “grand bargain” discussed with Boehner.
- No cuts to Social Security or Medicaid, Medicare cuts on the supplier side.
- Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and programs for the poor are exempted from the across-the-board cuts in the trigger.
- $350B in cuts come from the Pentagon.
- Most of the cuts are backloaded not to start until 2013.