The Debt Commission set up by President Obama to come up with recommendations to avoid insolvency is headed up by two honorable men: former Senator Alan Simpson and former Clinton chief of staff Erskine Bowles. They told a governor's conference today disheartening in its implications about the fiscal future of the United States:

"There are many who hope we fail," Simpson said at the closing session of the National Governors Association meeting. He called the 18-member commission "good people with deep, deep differences" who know the odds of success "are rather harrowing."

Bowles said that unlike the current economic crisis, which was largely unforeseen before it hit in the fall of 2008, the coming fiscal calamity is staring the country in the face. "This one is as clear as a bell," he said. "This debt is like a cancer."

The commission leaders said that, at present, available federal revenues are fully consumed by just three programs: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. "The rest of the federal government, including fighting two wars, homeland security, education, art, culture, you name it, veterans, the whole rest of the discretionary budget is being financed by China and other countries," Simpson said.

We can't grow our way out of this," Bowles said. "We could have decades of double digit growth and not grow our way out of this enormous debt problem. We can't tax our way out . . . The reality is we've got to do exactly what you all do every day as governors. We've got to cut spending or increase revenues or do some combination of that."

There you have it. Proof positive that before ways to shrink government substantially are tried, taxes will be raised - probably a lot. Little effort will be made to reform the Big Three entitlements of social security, medicare, and medicaid. Virtually nothing will be done with the bloat in departments like education, transportation, and the biggest tax waster in Washington, the Department of Homeland Security.

It's a losing battle to try and keep government from spending other people's money faster than than the growth of government. Until they figure out that mystery, nothing will be solved, nothing addressed, and we will still be on the road to ruin.

Hat Tip: Ed Lasky