We now know the makeup of President Obama’s bipartisan deficit commission. There are 10 Ds and 8 Rs with 14 votes needed to approve a recommendation As I go down the membership list, I see a lot of folks who are likely believers in the new Washington Consensus — significant spending cuts won’t help so big tax hikes are necessary. Of course, study after study shows big tax hikes are a terrible way to bring deficits under control. They kill growth which makes balancing the budget even harder since revenues are deflated.