Communications

Today, while discussing his proposal for health care reform, President Obama said, “Our proposal is paid for. … Our cost-cutting measures mirror many proposals which produce most people's premiums and brings down our deficit by up to $1 trillion because we are spending our health care dollars more wisely.” (President Obama, “President Obama Speaks on Health Insurance Reform,” 3/8/10)

President Obama may need to do some research because a lot of folks seem to disagree with his assessment of the plan.  David Broder, Dean of the Washington Press Corps, said “While the CBO said that both the House-passed bill and the one Reid has drafted meet Obama’s test by being budget-neutral, every expert I have talked to says that the public has it right. These bills, as they stand, are budget-busters.” That’s right, the bills are budget-busters. (David S. Broder, Op-Ed, “A Budget-Buster In The Making,” The Washington Post, 11/22/09)

Also, The Washington Post Editorial Board drew attention to the fact that the only President Obama is using “a fiscal sleight of hand” to pretend that reform bills are budget neutral.  “First off, $247 billion -- the 10-year cost of the fix -- is one whopper of a ‘discrepancy.’ … President Obama has vowed that health reform will not add a single dime to the deficit -- but he is seemingly unfazed about adding more than a quarter-trillion dollars to the deficit by changing the Medicare reimbursement formula without finding a way to pay for it. … This latest maneuver only heightens the fiscal irresponsibility of what already was a fiscal sleight of hand.” (Editorial, “2.47 Trillion Dimes,” The Washington Post, 10/19/09)

Maybe President Obama should take a break from campaigning for his proposal and spend some time doing some research on the real impact of his plan on our debt.