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  • Obama $1 trillion health care savings is for decade after 2019, might be meaningless

    FOXNews.com - Obama Confuses Decades, Inflates Estimated Health Care Savings by $868B

    Obama Confuses Decades, Inflates Estimated Health Care Savings by $868B

    Obama boasted Monday that Democrats' health care proposals would cut deficits by $1 trillion "over the next decade," a flub that inflated the actual estimate by $868 billion

    President Obama, making his final push for health care reform, pitched his proposal Monday to a crowd in Pennsylvania with a deficit-reduction figure that the White House later admitted missed the mark.

    "Our cost-cutting measures mirror most of the proposals in the current Senate bill, which reduces most people's premiums and brings down our deficit by up to $1 trillion dollars over the next decade because we're spending our health care dollars more wisely," Obama told an audience at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa., a suburb north of Philadelphia.

    Obama was so proud of these cost-saving numbers in the latest version of health care reform, he delved into a bit of Washington-speak to back them up.

    "Those aren't my numbers," Obama said to the rising applause of the estimated 1,300 in attendance. "They are the savings determined by the Congressional Budget Office, which is the nonpartisan, independent referee of Congress for what things cost."

    But the budget office did not say the Senate health care bill would save $1 trillion over the next decade -- or even close to that figure.

    It estimated the bill would save $132 billion from 2010 to 2019, leaving Obama's "next decade" estimate $868 billion short.

    When contacted about this disparity, a White House official said Obama meant to say the Senate bill would save $1 trillion in its second decade -- a projection that would more closely match congressional analysts' estimates.

    The budget office, in estimating possible second-decade savings of up to $1 trillion, also cautioned against putting too much stock in figures for a period so far in the future: "A detailed year-by-year projection for years beyond 2019 ... would not be meaningful, because the uncertainties involved are simply too great."

    Nevertheless, Obama is pressing Congress to act on reform measures in the face of united Republican opposition and a Democratic majority that is nervous about the upcoming midterm elections. He made the case Monday that all issues had been considered, all ideas vetted. It is time to take a stand he said.

    "We have debated health care in Washington for more than a year," Obama said. "Every proposal has been put on the table. Every argument has been made. The need is great, the opportunity is here. Let's seize reform. It's within our grasp."

    Fox News' Major Garrett contributed to this report.

  • #2
    He talks a lot but all I hear is "blah blah blah."

    Does anyone still take him seriously? He says everything people want to hear but never follows through.
    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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    • #3
      I heard him refer to himself as the "leader of the democratic party" the other day in an interview.

      Someone should tell him the US is not a parliamentary government.
      "We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way." -President Barack Obama 11/25/2008

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by gunnut View Post
        He talks a lot but all I hear is "blah blah blah."

        Does anyone still take him seriously? He says everything people want to hear but never follows through.
        Sadly enough, more do-nothing/know-nothing youth hang on his every word than I would care to mention.

        The ones who watch E! news and read US Weekly--Obama is fashionable.
        "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach...just make sure you thrust upward through his ribcage."

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by ShawnG View Post
          Sadly enough, more do-nothing/know-nothing youth hang on his every word than I would care to mention.

          The ones who watch E! news and read US Weekly--Obama is fashionable.
          Fortunately for this world these people don't vote in significant numbers.
          "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by gunnut View Post
            Fortunately for this world these people don't vote in significant numbers.
            But when they do vote, they tend to vote for the Democrats because they're cool. The Democrats definitely have the advantage when it comes to the young vote. As far as the savings or deficit regarding health care, I don't think the CBO has punched the latest numbers. I think that's what Pelosi is waiting for.
            Vega Sinclair, Health Coach

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by gunnut View Post
              Fortunately for this world these people don't vote in significant numbers.
              Unless of course ACORN brings busses to their neighborhoods to get them to the polls to vote (a few times) for their favorite Democratic nominee.
              "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach...just make sure you thrust upward through his ribcage."

              Comment


              • #8
                shawn,

                Sadly enough, more do-nothing/know-nothing youth hang on his every word than I would care to mention.

                The ones who watch E! news and read US Weekly--Obama is fashionable.
                while there is definitely some element of this, as we saw back in the presidential campaign, republicans should be careful not to group all "under 35's" in this category.

                right now, i'd say the main reason for the disconnect is because the younger generation tends to be more socially libertarian -and- more socially liberal than the previous generation, with a larger percentage being a minority.

                i think the republicans could gain real appeal if they embrace the principle of small, -competent- government, drop the religious nuts, and re-configure their immigration message, which is overwhelmingly just a drumbeat of "no illegals" (which easily bleeds into, "no immigrants") instead of a comprehensive policy.
                There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by astralis View Post
                  shawn,
                  right now, i'd say the main reason for the disconnect is because the younger generation tends to be more socially libertarian -and- more socially liberal than the previous generation, with a larger percentage being a minority.

                  i think the republicans could gain real appeal if they embrace the principle of small, -competent- government, drop the religious nuts, and re-configure their immigration message, which is overwhelmingly just a drumbeat of "no illegals" (which easily bleeds into, "no immigrants") instead of a comprehensive policy.

                  That much is fact. I am currently a college student (should finally be done by the time I turn 30!) and it's disturbing how openly left the faculty and student body are--fellow adult learners alike. In Econ (macro) the instructor actually asked how many democrats/republicans there were (while making fun of republicans of the past 10 years). One other student and I raised our hands for Republicans (and I'm even a registered Independent!!!)

                  The old GOP surely isn't what is going to work today--as you said, drop the religious nuts and immigration ideas.
                  "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach...just make sure you thrust upward through his ribcage."

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Back to the topic- Will Obamacare reduce Federal deficits? Here is an excerpt from a letter from Doug Elmendorf to Paul Ryan
                    ...The Budgetary Impact of Enacting the Reconciliation Proposal and H.R. 3590 Excluding Cash Flows of the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund

                    You further asked about the budgetary impact of enacting the reconciliation proposal (the amendment to H.R. 4872) and the Senate-passed health bill (H.R. 3590) excluding the cash flows of the Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund, from which Medicare Part A benefits are paid.

                    On the basis of the economic forecast and technical assumptions underlying CBO’s March 2009 baseline, CBO projected that, under current law, the HI trust fund would be exhausted—that is, the balance of the trust fund would decline to zero—during fiscal year 2017. Enacting the reconciliation proposal and the Senate-passed health bill would reduce net outlays for Part A of Medicare by $286 billion over the 2010–2019 period relative to that baseline, CBO estimates. Enacting that legislation would also increase HI payroll tax receipts by about $112 billion over that period, according to estimates by CBO and JCT. Together, those changes in outlays and revenues would diminish budget deficits and add $398 billion plus interest earnings to the trust fund’s balances over that 10-year period. Given those changes in the inancial flows of the trust fund, CBO estimates that the HI trust fund would have a positive balance of about $219 billion at the end of fiscal year 2019.

                    In the March 18, 2010, preliminary analysis of the budgetary effects of the reconciliation proposal, CBO and JCT estimated that the direct spending and revenue effects of enacting that proposal together with the Senate-passed health bill (H.R. 3590) would yield a net reduction in federal deficits of $138 billion over the 2010–2019 period. Thus, the legislation’s effects on the rest of the budget—other than the cash flows of the HI trust fund—would amount to a net increase in federal deficits of $260 billion over the same period.

                    For the decade beyond 2019, CBO expects that enacting the reconciliation proposal and the Senate-passed health bill would reduce federal budget deficits relative to those projected under current law—with a total effect during that decade in a broad range around one-half percent of GDP. The legislation would have positive effects on the cash flows of the HI trust fund in that decade that would be larger than its effects on federal budget deficits as a whole. Therefore, leaving aside the cash flows of the HI trust fund, CBO expects that the reconciliation proposal and the Senate-passed health bill would yield a net increase in budget deficits during the decade beyond 2019.

                    The increase in the balances of the HI trust fund that would result from enacting H.R. 3590 and the reconciliation proposal might suggest that significant additional resources—$398 billion plus additional interest to be credited to the trust fund over time—had been set aside to pay for future Medicare benefits. However, only the additional savings by the government as a whole truly increase the government’s ability to pay for future Medicare benefits or other programs, and those would be much smaller ($138 billion plus interest savings to be achieved over time). In effect, the majority of the HI trust fund savings under H.R. 3590 and the reconciliation proposal would be used to pay for other spending and therefore would not enhance the ability of the government to pay for future Medicare benefits.

                    http://www.house.gov/budget_republic...0319letter.pdf
                    So the plan is to cut medicare by $268 Bn, increase taxes by $112 Bn, spend the money elsewhere, and increase the Federal deficit.
                    Last edited by highsea; 20 Mar 10,, 03:03.
                    "We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way." -President Barack Obama 11/25/2008

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by astralis View Post
                      i think the republicans could gain real appeal if they embrace the principle of small, -competent- government, drop the religious nuts, and re-configure their immigration message, which is overwhelmingly just a drumbeat of "no illegals" (which easily bleeds into, "no immigrants") instead of a comprehensive policy.
                      Excuse me. Have you just returned from Mars? :) What do you think the religious nuts want if not smaller government?

                      And I think you'll find a good number of Republicans prepared to face up to the immigration issue. As for the "no illegals" mantra, both parties say pretty much the same thing with somewhat different meanings.
                      To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by highsea View Post
                        Back to the topic- Will Obamacare reduce Federal deficits? Here is an excerpt from a letter from Doug Elmendorf to Paul Ryan So the plan is to cut medicare by $268 Bn, increase taxes by $112 Bn, spend the money elsewhere, and increase the Federal deficit.
                        The CBO memo was based on the Senate bill and a few House amendments. Don't the numbers the dem's are crowing about depend on the planned reconciliation of the Senate and House bills? The bill the House passed originally was supposedly deficit neutral and/or deficit reducing.
                        To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          JAD,

                          What do you think the religious nuts want if not smaller government?
                          oh, they -say- they want smaller government, just as long as the government teaches creationism or intelligent design in schools; or telling people whom they can or cannot marry to include changing the constitution on that point; or no such thing as separation between church and state; increase funding for religious schools...

                          And I think you'll find a good number of Republicans prepared to face up to the immigration issue. As for the "no illegals" mantra, both parties say pretty much the same thing with somewhat different meanings.
                          oh, i expect republicans will become more liberal re: the immigration issue too, if for no other reason than the growing hispanic population. right now, though, the focus is different.
                          There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by JAD_333 View Post
                            The CBO memo was based on the Senate bill and a few House amendments. Don't the numbers the dem's are crowing about depend on the planned reconciliation of the Senate and House bills? The bill the House passed originally was supposedly deficit neutral and/or deficit reducing.
                            Jad- that CBO letter was today! That's the current scoring he's talking about- with the reconciliation language.

                            The House bill is dead and buried. The bills that gets deemed on Sunday is the Senate bill, and the reconciliation bill that the dems hope will get through the Senate.

                            This CBO letter is talking about those bills.
                            Last edited by highsea; 20 Mar 10,, 05:25.
                            "We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way." -President Barack Obama 11/25/2008

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              HS:

                              Then someone is pitching some serious heat. That's not what the House leadership was saying last night.
                              To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

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