Conservatives are ranting over how much the Obama deficits are larger than the Bush deficits. However, even though it seems like they are comparing apples to apples; it is really comparing apples to oranges.
George W. Bush did not include the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in his budget numbers and Barack Obama is including the war cost in his budget deficits. This seems to be Enron type accounting. It seems that Bush learned something from the man he claims not to know, former Enron CEO and Chairman Kenneth “Kenny Boy” Lay.
Ironic that double counting medicare savings is the budget tool used to sell Obama Care as debt neutral but not counting a war which should not be ongoing (yes Bush lied or was ignorant) is 'enron accounting'
ReplyDeleteThe Medicare savings in the bill was obtained by ending the gift to private insurance companies to run Medicare Advantage more expensively than the government runs Medicare. That money was used to close the doughnut hole in Medicare Part D.
ReplyDeleteAlso the use of "Obamacare" is a loaded term. Ask people if they are for or against it many say yes. However, which of these items are you against:
Covering your children until they are 26?
Banning denials of coverage for preexisting conditions?
Insurance companies not allowed to drop you because you get sick and use your health insurance?
Requiring insurance companies to pay doctors to discuss end of life care?
The actual contents of the health insurance plan are popular. But use a derogatory term like Obamacare and you people not liking it. Polling is all about how the questions are asked.
The CBO stated clearly they were being asked to count twice the same lump of money:
ReplyDelete"To describe the full amount of HI trust fund savings as both improving the government's ability to pay future Medicare benefits and financing new spending outside of Medicare would essentially double-count a large share of those savings and thus overstate the improvement in the government's fiscal position."
How about forcing companies to pay a 3K tax for every single employee if any one person is not covered by the company? Is that something people would be for?
Candidate Obama *knew* a mandate does not fix or even help the medical cost issue in this nation. He mocked Clinton for proposing one