I know and admire Diane Lim Rogers. She's a friend, colleague, and frequent co- conspirator when it comes to budget. But Brad DeLong has her number with this post: No Diane, having any budget commission is not necessarily better than not having one.
I truly wish this wasn't the case. But when, as Brad points out, a commission is really just an excuse to do less now and a subterfuge for what's really happening, I don't see the value. Given all the failed budget commissions and summits of the past and the fact that the moon and stars don't seem to be in proper alignment for one to succeed now, I'd much rather have members of Congress take their lumps at the next election for not using the power they already have to deal with the deficit than to promise for no apparent reason that somehow a commission is going to be different this time.
