In a major victory for Republicans, the debt deal includes no means to increase government revenues such as a tax hike on the wealthy. That could effectively kill any chances of raising taxes on the rich, as Republicans on the bipartisan deficit panel are unlikely to approve them. During the talks, President Obama reportedly offered to reduce Medicare spending by slowly raising the eligibility age to 67 from the current 65, and to cut Social Security by altering the cost-of-living formula used to calculate benefits.