INSTITUTE INDEX: The deficit commission's curious plan to help those who need it least

Date on which President Obama's deficit commission will meet to consider adopting a plan drawn up by its co-chairs, former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) and Erskine Bowles, former Clinton chief of staff and current University of North Carolina president: 12/3/2010

Age to which the plan would raise Social Security retirement by 2050 while decreasing cost-of-living adjustments: 68

Age to which the plan would raise Social Security retirement by 2075: 69

Percentage points by which the commission would lower tax rates for the wealthiest Americans and corporations, while putting an end to taxing profits that U.S.-based multinational corporations earn abroad: 7

Year in which the plan would have Americans begin paying taxes on employer-provided health benefits: 2038

Under the proposal, the projected size of the U.S. deficit in 2015: $421 billion

Amount by which the plan's proposed tax cuts would reduce federal revenue: roughly 20 percent

Number of U.S. jobs that the plan would kill over three years, according to one analysis: 4 million

Date on which Simpson likened Social Security to a "milk cow with 310 million tits": 8/24/2010

Average amount a Social Security beneficiary receives annually: $13,900

Amount that Erskine Bowles earns annually as a director for Morgan Stanley, the global financial firm: $335,000

Amount Bowles' wife, Crandall, earns as a director at financial firm JP Morgan: $255,000

Approximate value of the JP Morgan stock owned by Crandall Bowles: $1.5 million

Month that the International Monetary Fund called for substantial increases in taxes on the financial industry: 6/2010

Number of taxes the deficit commission's plan proposes for the financial industry: 0

Number of the 18 panel members who would have to approve the plan for a possible Senate vote in the current lame-duck session: 14

Number of members who have announced their support for the plan so far: 9

Number who have said they will vote against it: 2

(Click on figure to go to source. The White House photo by Lawrence Jackson shows President Obama signing the order creating the commission while Vice President Joe Biden and co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson look on. )