Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Question re CBO Report on Health Care Bill
The Congressional Budget Office has released an estimate that the Senate Finance Committee health care bill would cost $829 billion over 10 years, according to a story at LA Times online. The CBO also estimates that the plan would reduce the federal deficit by $81 billion over the same period.
Now, let's assume that the SFC bill is actually enacted and signed into law as it currently is written (IIRC, it doesn't include a government option but at least one of the three bills pending in the House does, and then there's another Senate bill, and then there's reconciliation) and assume further that the actual expenditures over that 10 year period do not exceed the estimates that the CBO is working with (when has that ever happened?). How is something that costs $829 billion going to reduce the federal deficit without a sharp increase in tax revenues?
Anybody care to explain that in terms your average Joe Six-pack can understand?
Anybody want to bet that 10 years from now the actual expenditures won't have far exceeded the $829 billion number?
Now, let's assume that the SFC bill is actually enacted and signed into law as it currently is written (IIRC, it doesn't include a government option but at least one of the three bills pending in the House does, and then there's another Senate bill, and then there's reconciliation) and assume further that the actual expenditures over that 10 year period do not exceed the estimates that the CBO is working with (when has that ever happened?). How is something that costs $829 billion going to reduce the federal deficit without a sharp increase in tax revenues?
Anybody care to explain that in terms your average Joe Six-pack can understand?
Anybody want to bet that 10 years from now the actual expenditures won't have far exceeded the $829 billion number?
Labels: Congress, Health Care, Taxes
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