But the committee has a rough road ahead. In his testimony presented Tuesday, CBO chief Elmendorf, a well-respected, non-partisan official, said the government needed to raise taxes and cut spending if it wants to preserve its entitlement programs as they are; or, if it wants to hold off on tax hikes, it needs to cut entitlement - and all other - spending pretty drastically, according to a Washington Post write-up.

"Citizens will either have to pay more for their government, accept less in government services and benefits, or both," he told the politicians, according to the AP.


But the GOP is unwilling to budge on tax increases, and the Democrats will likely balk on any cuts to Social Security or Medicare. On Thursday, for instance, House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, re-affirmed his opposition to tax increases, telling the supercommittee it only has one option: "spending cuts and entitlement reform," according to the Washington Post.

"There are skeptics who say prospects are bleak that the supercommittee will come up with anything resembling a comprehensive solution to the deficit problem," Dana Milbank observed in the Washington Post this week. "I think those skeptics are too optimistic."


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