WHY THE SUPERCOMMITTEE FAILED. The Washington Post had Sunday opinion pieces from both sides of the Supercommittee:

According to Democrats: Republicans would not accept the need for a balanced deficit-reduction plan. This opinion was authored by Democrat member Chris Van Hollen.

According to Republicans: Democrats were determined to have big, new tax increases, both now and later. This opinion was authored by the entire Republican side of the Supercommittee.

The Republican piece was interesting; they offered tax reform (but not rate increases); also - but not mentioned - Social Security reform and Medicare/Medicaid reform. The Democratic offer was 'same old, same old': tax increases on the rich, and - to their credit - some Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid reforms along the lines of the Simpson-Bowles Commission plan.