Today, CBO released its biennial set of policy options, "to help policymakers in their annual tasks of making budgetary choices, setting priorities, and adapting to changing circumstances." Some of the options seem particularly fiscally favorable, politically feasible, and equitable, among them:

• OPTION 17 -- Include All Income Earned Abroad by U.S. Citizen in Taxable Income. (5-year savings: $22.9 billion; 10-year savings: $57 billion)
• OPTION 24 -- Set the Corporate Tax Rate at 35 Percent for All Corporations. (5-year savings: $13.2 billion; 10-year savings: $27.6 billion)
• OPTION 32 -- Extend the Period for Recovering the Cost of Equipment Purchases. (5-year savings: $83.4 billion;10-year savings: $192.5 billion)

TOTAL 5-year savings: $119.5 billion;10-year savings: $277.1 billion Perhaps some of these options could serve as good offsets. Maybe they could go toward an old-fashioned policy objective -- paying down the debt.