Senators Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) and Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) reached a mutual agreement to set parameters for a tax overhaul.

If you think the deal will do anything about the deficit, you are mistaken.

Senate Republicans reached a deal Tuesday that would allow tax cuts over the next decade, bridging party divides over trade-offs between tax cuts and budget deficits and taking an important step toward tax-overhaul legislation.

Sens. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) and Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), representing opposing fiscal-policy viewpoints in the Senate Budget Committee, said Tuesday that they struck the agreement, which senators said could lead to a committee vote as early as next week.

Mr. Toomey had been seeking tax cuts that might reduce revenues by as much as $2 trillion over a decade. Mr. Corker, more wary of budget deficits, had been arguing for a smaller number. The number could be up to $1.5 trillion in revenue-reducing tax cuts, but neither senator would confirm the figure in advance of a formal announcement.

Democrats accused Republicans of abandoning their claims of fiscal probity in a country with $20 trillion in debt, about $10 trillion in projected additional deficits over the next decade and the prospect, eventually, of rising interest rates.

Hypocrites All Around

Since when are Democrats concerned about deficits? Since when are Republicans unconcerned about deficits?

There is plenty of hypocrisy to spread around on this deal. But to answer the two questions:

  1. Democrats are only concerned about deficits when Republicans are in power.
  2. Republicans are only concerned about deficits when Democrats are in power.

It’s hard to say if the compromise is a step in the right direction because details are nonexistent as is typically the case.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock