Last week, a report by the leaders of Obama’s deficit commission, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, recommended massive cuts across the budget, most significantly to Social Security and healthcare programs. But according to Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the report is "the wrong answer to not a problem." The report has now been roundly criticized by progressives for its suggested cuts, but according to Dean, the real cause of the deficit remains hidden from most Americans: our ongoing healthcare crisis.

Baker joins The Nation on Grit TV via Skype from Washington, DC to talk about what can really be done to balance the budget and why we should be much more focused on creating jobs and reforming healthcare than on slashing programs that benefit us all.

The Nation on GRIT TV is a weekly video collaboration between The Nation and GRIT TV with Laura Flanders. Watch for Monday briefings, Wednesday commentaries, weekend conversations and more at TheNation.com. For full half-hour episodes of The Nation on GRIT TV, or local television air times visit www.grittv.org.