Marc Gerson discusses the obstacles faced by the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. A significant one was the accelerated schedule under which the Committee worked, says Gerson. "Tax reform is a long, complicated process," he says. "Doing tax reform in an accelerated time period is exceptionally difficult." While it would have been difficult for the Committee to truly reform the tax code in the time it had, many observers thought it would be possible for them to develop a proposal that included "directional language," Gerson says. In other words, while the Committee's report may not have gotten into the nitty-gritty details of the tax code changes that were needed, it could have identified targeted tax rates for businesses and individuals, he adds.

Then too, any proposal that made its way out of the Committee would have to be truly bi-partisan, Gerson says. With six members from both the Republican and Democratic parties, it was unlikely that the final vote would be a seven-to-five split, Gerson adds. "It wasn't a question of swaying one Democrat or one Republican," he says.