The U.S. Senate yesterday rejected a proposal that would have created a bi-partisan “Deficit Commission”, which would have had the authority to make recommendations that Congress would have been forced to vote up or down, with no amendments. The proposal, sponsored by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad, gathered 53 votes in the Senate, but failed to reach the necessary 60. Opposition to the proposal came from both left and right, with Democrats decrying the potential for spending cuts, and Republicans firmly opposed to any proposal that could bring tax increases. The Democratic left and the Republican right are both wrong on this. I understand the need to deficit spend to help us out of this recession, but the structural problems need to be addressed now. One interesting note. Interest payments are scheduled to rise to over $700 billion annually by 2020. That is money that can’t be spent on social programs, and will have to be taxed for. The fiscal madness will move forward, and will do so on a bipartisan basis. Read a New York Times story on the bill’s defeat here.