If big numbers scare you, you might not want to read this.  But “in late November . . . Congress must raise the nation’s nearly $12 trillion debt limit so the Treasury Department can continue borrowing to keep the government running.”  That’s from a report by Jackie Calmes and Carl Hulse of the New York Times on an idea that’s so crazy it just might work:  a new initiative to reduce the national debt.  Senators Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) are pushing for a bipartisan panel to take on the frightful task of deciding between cutting programs and raising taxes, two things legislators try to avoid.  Conrad is proposing a model like the one used to select military bases for closure, “another decision that lawmakers found difficult to make because of parochial and political considerations.”  People like Robert Samuelson are wondering if the U.S. might actually default on its debt.  It’s time to get started and not finish until the job is done.

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