Democrats in the administration and Congress have agreed on a set of amendments to the Senate health care bill. And, according to House leadership, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is certifying that the amendments will reduce the deficit. That should fulfill the parliamentary requirements of the reconciliation process, satisfy the demands of many nervous Democrats, and clear the way for the House to vote on health care reform.So a significant savings over 20 years. Republicans, as usual, are lying when they say the bill will make the deficit worse. It's just false. Like Cohn says, if Republicans were serious about fiscal responsibility, they would sign on to Saturday's House vote.
Overall, according to leadership aides, the underlying Senate health care bill plus the amendments will reduce the deficit by $130 billion in the first ten years and $1.2 trillion in the second ten years. Democrats are calling it the "biggest deficit reduction measure in 25 years"--that is, since the 1993 Clinton budget.
This news should ease the anxiety of reform critics, both in Congress and beyond, who worry that health care reform will bankrupt the government or the country. CBO projections are not an exact science, but they're as reliable as anything we have. If anything, their projections err on the side of excessive caution.
Alas, that will never happen.
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ReplyDeleteNaive as defined on dictionary.com
ReplyDelete–adjective
1.
having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.
2.
having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous: She's so naive she believes everything she reads. He has a very naive attitude toward politics.
How many things Government ran are coming in at, near or under budget?
CBO is only limited to score a bill based on what is in...the bill. So they are constrained to whats in the bill and not what would be reality. How many years have their been talks of cuts to Medicare payments to doctors? This year there was a talk of a 21% cut and it was pushed back as it always is regardless of the Party.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/01/politics/main6256385.shtml
How many doctors would drop patients or not accept new ones if these cuts happened? Yet it's in the bill and is a key piece of reducing costs.
The bill that was sent to the CBO includes those 21% cuts which haven't happened and won't happen. How many other things in the bill that would cut payments to X or Y won't happen? This is how we end up with bills that look good on paper but in reality lead to runaway spending and end up becoming a fire too large to put out (Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare anyone?)
*Deleted prior comment, needed to correct link.
Right, the CBO is an unimpeachable source of finality when it comes to Republican bills, and a naive bunch of incompetent fools and liars when Democrats submit legislation.
ReplyDeleteGot it.
Excellent point Zandar.
ReplyDeleteZandar = 1
Stupid = 0
Actually I never said I trusted them, see this is in the context of reality not partisan politics.
ReplyDeleteIt is naive to trust data from them because it is in the context of a bubble that they are trapped in. Also notice you had nothing to offer besides a point that wasn't even relevant? Either you can't argue worth a damn or you really have no clue why you have faith in someone to take care of you.
Answer the question, what government entitlement is coming it at, close to, or under budget?
Why do you trust them to do this right?