Alan Simpson, Erskine Bowles call for shared sacrifice in University of Oklahoma speech

Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson, co-chairmen of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, spoke in the Molly Shi Boren ballroom at the University of Oklahoma. The commission was assembled to find policies to improve the nation's medium- and long-term fiscal situation.

At the end of 2010, the commission released its final report, a 10-year plan to cut the budget deficit by $4 trillion. Although supported by both Democrats and Republicans, the report did not win the commission's endorsement.

The $4 trillion reduction comes from a combination of $1 trillion in increased tax revenue and $3 trillion in spending cuts. Striking a balance between spending cuts and increased revenue is the only effective way to tackle the crisis, Bowles said.

Although most lawmakers recognize that cuts in services will be necessary, they're hamstrung by their constituents who depend on those services, said Simpson, former U.S. senator from Wyoming. When the commission proposed making changes to Social Security, he said, it drew the ire of the AARP.