INSTITUTE INDEX: Who should bear the burden of cutting U.S. debt?

The current legal limit on borrowing by the U.S. government: $14.3 trillion

Month when the Treasury is expected to surpass that limit: 7/2011

Amount by which a deficit-reduction plan offered this week by President Obama would cut the nation's debt over the next 12 years: $4 trillion

Amount by which a plan offered by House Republicans would cut national debt over the next decade: $4.4 trillion

Portion of debt reduction in the President's plan that would come from budget cuts: 2/3

Portion that would come from revenue increases: 1/3

Amount by which the President's plan would cut military spending: $400 billion

Percent by which that amount surpassed the amount that Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended: 200

Under the Republican plan, which would transform Medicare into a voucher program, percent by which elderly beneficiaries' health care payments would increase by 2022: more than 200

Amount the Republican plan would cut from Medicaid, the health care program for the poor, by 2022: $735 billion

Amount by which Obama's plan aims to cut Medicaid spending over the next decade: $100 billion

Of the 10 states with the most deficient Medicaid programs, number in the South: 4*

Of the 10 states with the least deficient Medicaid programs, number in the South: 0

Tax increases in the Republican plan: 0

Percentage points by which the Republican plan would cut the top tax rate for wealthy individuals: 10

Amount of revenue the President's plan would raise by allowing Bush-era tax cuts to expire for Americans earning over $250,000: $1 trillion

If households with incomes over $1 million today paid federal income taxes at the same rate comparable household paid in 1961, additional revenue the U.S. would raise this year: $231 billion

If U.S. corporations paid taxes at at the same effective rate they paid in 1961, additional tax revenue that would be collected: $485 billion

Amount the Treasury could raise over the next decade by implementing five basic tax reforms: as much as $4 trillion

Amount that could be raised by establishing several higher income tax brackets for millionaires: $60 billion-$80 billion

By ending overseas corporate tax havens: $100 billion a year

By establishing a modest financial transaction tax: $150 billion a year

By making the estate tax progressive: $25 billion a year

By ending preferential treatment for income from dividends and capital gains: $88 billion

Date House Republicans plan to vote on their debt-reduction plan: 4/15/2011

* Alabama, South Carolina, Texas and Mississippi

(Click on figure to go to source.)