Not Even a Trillion Dollars!
If you’re following the health care debate, the CBO (I don’t know who they are) estimate that Obama’s bill will cost $940 billion over the next ten years which somehow saves us money ($100 billion over ten years, though Obama can easily fritter that away in a month). I don’t get government math. I had my own plan which involved shutting down all the government and exiling all of its employees to Antarctica, but the CBO told me that would actually increase the cost of government. The CBO also told me that if I gave them ten dollars, it would be like I was saving twenty. I didn’t understand that, and when I gave then ten dollars they just ran off giggling.
UPDATE:
Ed Morrisey and Allahpundit has a good explanation of how the numbers were fudged in this post. To make the 10 year estimate trillions less, they just wait four years to actually implement anything (only $17 billion of the estimated $940 billion is spent the first four years). So the cost is really $927 billion over six years, with those last four missing years being the greatest cost.
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March 18th, 2010 at 11:09 am
Apparently, the CBO is staffed entirely by lawyers. But out-of-work accountants are hard to find during tax season.
March 18th, 2010 at 11:15 am
Boy, the smell today is as sweet as a horse barn.
March 18th, 2010 at 11:18 am
From Paul Ryan’s office (Via Captain Ed):
However, I fully expect the CBO to go right along with the Democrats.
But don’t let this discourage you. Don’t give up the ship.
March 18th, 2010 at 11:20 am
And I thought I was the only one advocating shutting it down.
Frank must be a Jeffersonian Republican. Our Republic only ever gets a temporary license whose renewal is always in doubt..
March 18th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I’m all for the Antarctica thing.
And speaking of the CBO, I heard they finally released their NCAA picks today too. For the final four they have Winthrop, Wofford, Murray St., and UC Santa Barbara. When someone pointed out that Winthrop had already lost the play-in game, the CBO responded that they “still have a good feeling about their chances”.
March 18th, 2010 at 11:32 am
What you don’t understand is that a few Billion of that $940B is going to a Nigerian prince that needs help getting money out of his royal bank accounts, in return for which he will pay the CBO a commission of $100 Billion.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
They have, in fact, released their numbers.
AllahPundit:
“This is why they’re delaying the start of the program, of course. If it kicked in right away, the decade-long estimate would obviously be well into the trillions. So they simply stalled it for four years, incurring just $17 billion in costs — or 1.8 percent of the total 10-year estimate — through 2013 so that wavering Democrats could go back to their districts and tell baldfaced lies to their constituents about the pricetag. A perfect ending to this travesty.”
March 18th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
If this sucker gets passed, surely we have left the cliff.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Other than National security and fixing roads, there’s no other purpose for government. And, after watching some of these road projects take 8-10 years, it seems that they shouldn’t even be in charge of that.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Oh, how interesting!
March 18th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
I may or may not have double posted here; evidently, WordPress hates my browswer. If so, I apologize.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Those CBO guys must be the same math experts who did the metric calculations for the doomed Mars Explorer. Notice I said doomed. I have been told they also did the math for the Titanic’s hull. and the Challenger’s o-rings.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
I think my error was in trying to post links. The link was regarding the text in the CBO score by Daniel Foster at the National Review.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
You know the old saying: “On the horns of a dilemma.” ?
Taken literally, it means we’re “On the horns of two horns.”
I can’t seem to work today. I blame Frank.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
You know, Jimmy, what makes the Democrats pure evil is working on this while I’m watching March Madness. It’s almost like they planned it that way.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
I played that game in my youth, Marko. Center, and later forward (my friends kept growing past me!). A great game it is.
March 18th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
1. Increase health care costs.
2. ??
3. Profit.
Works for me!
March 18th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
And Bill Clinton’s fiscal prowess allowed him to run a couple of years at a Surplus. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA……………..
March 18th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
[...] skinny. More blog commentary from Gateway Pundit, The New Editor, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, IMAO, Sister Toldjah and Weasel Zippers.PREVIOUSLY:Dennis Kucinich to Vote ‘Yes’ and Other Updates [...]
March 18th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Let’s see. Government workers estimate how much it would cost to create more government jobs and job security for government workers, and they came up with a favorable score. Yep.
March 18th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Meanwhile, the Slaughter House Rule passes 222-203. Ouch.
Perhaps on Sunday, I’ll paint my house black and disappear into it.
March 18th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
I just cannot believe our government would FUDGE the numbers.
March 18th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
I know it’s hard not to become discouraged, but no one of us knows what’s going to happen. But I do know that if God was with the Founding Fathers, he is still with us today. The Democrats want us to believe this is inevitable, let’s not. Remember that even if this does pass (And I believe, in all honesty, that it is 50-50 as of late), there is always a future. Life will become difficult in this country, but freedom dwells within each of us.
I also enjoyed this comment from SlaveDog at Hot Air:
March 18th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
It’s absolutely incredible how anyone buys the CBO numbers. Anyway, like you said, Obama can easily spend all the supposed “savings” in a matter of weeks.
March 20th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
#23 – Marko Mancuso,
Amen, brother. Thanks, I needed that.