The ConservativeHome100 is our poll of some of America's most influential conservatives.
The poll includes notables such as Arthur Brooks, David Frum, John Podhoretz, John O'Sullivan, Reihan Salam, and Karl Rove. Some members have asked to remain anonymous.
This week, we are keeping the deficit commission's proposals alive even though the commission didn't get the 14 votes it needed under Obama's executive order. As Keith Hennessey points out, the commission was a success in virtue of the 11 votes it did receive. No one will agree to adopt every item in the proposal, but individual recommendations hold a lot of promise for reforms we need to get our deficit under control.
So we asked ConservativeHome100 panel members to select their top 3 choices for adopting specific panel recommendations. Here are the results:
- 58% - Cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 28%
- 47% - Reform Medicare but with some different policy options than the commission recommends
- 47% - Reform Social Security but with some different policy options than the commission recommends
- 45% - Reduce individual tax rates to 3 brackets by eliminating most exemptions and deductions in the tax code
- 42% - Cut discretionary spending as the panel recommends but leave defense untouched
- 32% - Freeze federal pay, including Congress's salaries, for 3 years
- 29% - Cut discretionary spending as the panel recommends including cuts to defense
- 25% - Reform Social Security as the commission recommends
- 18% - Eliminate all congressional earmarks
- 13% - Reduce individual tax rates to 3 brackets but leave exemptions and deductions in the tax code
- 13% - Reform Medicare as the commission recommends
- 11% - Increase the gas tax by 15 cents per gallon
