In the last few days there’s been a lot of debate over how much health care ‘reform’ will cost. Democrats have talked about the latest estimate from CBO. Liberals have cheered about the reduced cost of the revised bill. They don’t mention that Senate Democrat leaders have been pressuring CBO to be ‘more creative’ with their health care score. Nor do they point out that only Senate Democrats have seen CBO’s findings. Today Congress Daily reports that according to Democrat sources, CBO estimates the bill will cost $1.5 trilllion:
CBO has scored the House healthcare overhaul bill at $1.5 trillion over 10 years, according to sources. House Ways and Means Democrats plan to help pay for the bill by raising taxes on people earning $250,000 or more and taxing sugary beverages, sources said.
The tax on sugary drinks is expected to raise about $50 billion. A previous Ways and Means paper revealed Democrats were considering raising taxes on the wealthy through a 2 percent surtax that would raise $256 billion.
The House will not pay for the measure by taxing employer-based healthcare benefits, suggesting a merger of the House and Senate bills will be difficult. The Senate Finance Committee wants to keep its offsets within the health arena if possible and is weighing capping the value of employer-based coverage eligible for the tax exclusion.
Instead, the House will make Medicare cuts in the neighborhood of $500 billion and raise another $350 billion from an employer mandate. The specifics of the offsets are still somewhat in flux.
Raising the Medicare payroll tax is another big-ticket item that appears to be on the table…
The price tag for the House measure is well above the Senate Finance Committee’s goal of coming in at $1 trillion or less. A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators emerged from a meeting this afternoon with no major progress to report on striking a deal. “We’re not there yet,” Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus said.
Democrats talk all about transparency, but they won’t even share the information they’ve received from the Congressional Budget Office. They make claims about what CBO has concluded, but won’t let others examine CBO data.
Why should they be trusted – and where is the mainstream media?
Update: Or maybe there is no score?
One thing we do know: CBO sent Senate Democrat leaders a letter addressing the costs of their package. Why don’t they share it with the press and the public?
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wow cutting Medicare for 0-crap healthcare for all is a disaster for D's...
DONTREADONME (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 5:33PM EST (link)many things to day on all of the D’s plans for raising revenue to pay for this disaster.
1) go ahead and tax sugar soft drinks; therefore, all investors in KO and PEPSICO should dump their stocks ASAP.
2) what happens when you raise the cost of sugar soft drinks? People stop paying that little sin tax by changing habits, like drinking soft drinks with no glucose or high fructose corn syrup, so where is the revenue going to come from then?
3) starting adding a surtax on those making over 250,000 and you will find a number of people that once made that will not be making that anymore. So inevitably that tax will not bring in as much revenue as forecasted due to a loss of people in the higher incomes.
4) taxing sugary based soft drinks is reciprocal to a tax on corn producers, high fructose corn syrup seems to come from corn.
a) if you tax soft drinks because of the sugar which is high fructose corn syrup why wouldn’t you tax pancake syrup or any of the hundreds of other things that contain sugar?
5) Lastly, I wonder how those on Medicare are going to fell about their benefits being cut to pay for those that can afford health insurance but refuse to pay for it? I wonder what side of the equation AARP on, better yet I wonder what side of this argument the members of AARP are on, because we know that AARP is in the back pocket of the Dems.
Damn Democrats, quit making America FUBAR.
Do we really think they won't tax diet pop?
Flagstaff (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 7:42PM EST (link)No retailer will go to the trouble of pricing them differently.
Further, will they tax ethanol? It’s made from corn squeezin’s.
For those of you who don’t know, Medicare costs each recipient $96.40 per month this year. Becasue it is available, many companies eliminate some medical insurance benefits for employees and retirees when they reach 65. You’d better believe that if its equivalent becomes available for the general public that employer-paid medical insurance will soon be a thing of the past.
“The press is so powerful in its image-making role that it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”– Malcolm X, Audubon Ballroom, December 13, 1964
Why would they?
Rod_Patrick (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 5:42PM EST (link)If they tell us the real score on the cost of the Dimwit Health Care Program, WE WILL ALL BE APPALLED….. Conservatives and Liberals alike.
So ObamaCrats’ answer to your question is OBVIOUS:
“Our lips are sealed”. or ……. “The People mustn’t know!”
Despite all his infirmities, the super-gaffeistic VP Biden (if his mouth slips once again) is our last hope to know the TRUTH about the cost of Socialized Health Care Program of Comrade Obama. LOL!
We can't handle the truth
paulincolo (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 7:06PM EST (link)When Congress created the Medicare program in 1965, the CBO projected cost in 1990 was $9 billion. The true cost in 1990 was $67 billion, 7.4 times higher.
In 1987 Congress added a generous special hospitals subsidy to Medicare. The estimated cost was $100 million a year by 1992. The actual cost in 1992 was $11 billion. In 1988 Congress expanded Medicare again to include a home care program. Lawmakers expected the new program to cost $4 billion in 1993. The true cost that year was $10 billion.
If they tell us it will be $1 trillion, it will end up $4T. It doesn’t matter how they score it, it will be severely underestimated.
"and where is the mainstream media?"
NeoKong (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 5:50PM EST (link)They were at the Jackson memorial.
Priorities you know.
It wouldn’t matter anyway because they support Obama’s healthcare takeover and won’t jeopardize it with little inconveniences like the truth.
They are just an extension of the Obama White House.
ABC’s little Obamercial is just the latest example.
We cannot count on them anymore. Not that we could before.
The new media is all about advocacy journalism.
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Because they're Progressives, not democrats
alexandriatulips Tuesday, July 7th at 7:16PM EST (link)They don’t believe in democratic processes – they believe only in their agenda.
wow, think of this all by yourself did you?
DONTREADONME (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 7:40PM EST (link)I am still waiting for you to add something of value here?
Doesn’t it suck when people come in and address people out of the blue on a diary. Here’s your cookie, now I will wait for something that is intelligent or remotely intelligible. Learn a lesson and pick your fights a little more wisely.
Wow DTOM,
nessa (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 7:48PM EST (link)you’ve been meaner than a fireant the last couple days. Not that it isn’t entertaining.
“If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams
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teh twitter
Nessa, now I have to go back...
DONTREADONME (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 7:55PM EST (link)and look at my comments again to make sure that I haven’t overly cruel. These last three weeks have been very demoralizing for me, I guess my spirit is weak right now.
Now I will go back and make sure that I have not been too mean. I really do not want to turn into a curmudgeon, thanks for the notice, Nessa I will ease up a bit.
No worries, not too mean, just crustier than usual.
nessa (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 8:07PM EST (link)it happens.
“If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams
Contributor to Unified Patriots
teh twitter
LOL.
alexandriatulips Tuesday, July 7th at 7:56PM EST (link)you and aaron both – funny guys
LOL, you're a funny chick too-nt
DONTREADONME (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 7:58PM EST (link)aw, thanks,
alexandriatulips Tuesday, July 7th at 8:05PM EST (link)cutie.
aw, thanks,
alexandriatulips Tuesday, July 7th at 8:05PM EST (link)cutie.
Actually DTOM
David Hinz (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 8:03PM EST (link)what a-t said was intelligent. There is a very non-democratic [small d] vein in the progressive agenda.
There is little to differentiate a progressive from a Marxist from a Socialist from a Communist.
Their agendas intertwine and their tactics are nearly identical.
The Minority Report — The HinzSight Report — TMRB.tv — MFOB “Miss Tagart, do you know the hallmark of the second-rater? It’s resentment of another man’s achievement.”
David Hinz, it was meant as common knowledge?...
DONTREADONME (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 8:07PM EST (link)don’t we already know this here? Now I am waiting to see how long it took her to figure out through an online search that “who” is right and not whom.
Charles Kesler has some great comments on Progressivism
alexandriatulips Tuesday, July 7th at 9:08PM EST (link)over at NRO TV – Uncommon Knowledge.
Here’s the first part:
http://tv.nationalreview.com/uncommonknowledge/post/?q=OTkzNzE1ZTk5YTIwNzg4MmU4NTJiOWY4MDMyNzhmMjU=
Helen Thomas gave us a partial answer last week.
Flagstaff (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 7:30PM EST (link)She said, “You don’t like our questions because you don’t have any answers.” [inexact quote]
In this case, they have an answer but don’t want us to hear it.
“The press is so powerful in its image-making role that it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”– Malcolm X, Audubon Ballroom, December 13, 1964
Stop using "health care"!
Flagstaff (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 7:35PM EST (link)It’s almost all about “medical insurance,” and the two are not equivalent. The new plans might change the number of people who are covered by some kind of medical insurance, but their health care will most surely be worse. In fact, in the real world, it can’t help but make it worse.
“The press is so powerful in its image-making role that it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”– Malcolm X, Audubon Ballroom, December 13, 1964
How can
10ksnooker (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 7:50PM EST (link)Free health care for all cost so much.
Blame Republican Congresspeople as well
Joe Cor (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 9:44PM EST (link)They still are New Toning their way through the socialization of America.
No. This is the Democrats' play: they can own it.
Moe Lane (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 10:03PM EST (link)If you have outrage to spare after going down your list of Ds… well, let us know: I’m sure that we can find you a few more that you missed the first time.
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Could you please provide some positve reason for your argument,
Richard Mullins (Diary) Tuesday, July 7th at 10:52PM EST (link)or simply stop lumping Republican congressmen/women with those that want to pass a Socialist agenda. Their are at least some member that are committed to the defeat of this agenda, but they could use a little encouragement to do so.
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Joe Biden is like a Decrepit Park owner with a Meth lab that happens to not only be a dealer but a user.
Let’s Bankrupt the Democratic paty. Make spend all the money to defend thier candidates.