One question is timing. With a 2010 deficit topping $1 trillion, advisers like Timothy F. Geithner, below, the Treasury secretary, and Peter R. Orzsag, the budget director, favor bold steps in 2011 to demonstrate fiscal discipline.
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A more aggressive approach would seek quick action on Social Security.
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But since any Social Security plan would probably preserve benefits for those nearing retirement, it would not help the administration achieve its goal of reducing the deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product, from 10 percent, within a decade.
One way to reach that 3 percent goal, by the calculations of Mr. Obama’s economic team: a 5 percent value-added tax, which would generate enough revenue to simultaneously permit the reduction in corporate tax rates Republicans favor.
Full story: Reduction Is Theme Of President’s Next Act – The Caucus Blog – NYTimes.com