Most of the essay seems devoted to discussing the entitlement stuff, and it all came at the end, which is perhaps why it captured my attention.
There is a paragraph that makes an insinuation about tax hikes toward the beginning, using the 1990 Bush 41 episode as a reminder, but it doesn't specify which taxes Obama is threatening to raise. It was my understanding, at least as of this morning, that beyond lowering an itemized deduction cap on the top 2.5% of income earners, the only tax changes Obama might be seeking are on certain corporate deductions, LIFO and some oil and gas subsidies.
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/07/137656487/lets-make-a-debt-ceiling-dealI know the GOP wants to change the rates instead, and I'm sympathetic to that part of their agenda. But my bet is that
both sides are going to want to leave that on the table for the '12 race. Holding up a budget-deal/debt ceiling bill for that now might be, I don't disagree, good policy, but, as you noted when we talked a few days ago, it is silly season, and will be for at least another year and a half.