Republican Deficit Hypocrisy

Debt As A Share Of GDP Joke

Source: Congressional Budget Office.

[source]

Beautifully Covered ... By Insurance Or Six Feet Of Dirt

"Of course, we won't know the official numbers until the Congressional Budget Office releases its report which by law it must do for any bill over $5 billion. With one -- this is kind of funny -- exception. Thanks to new rules passed by the Republicans, this law shall not apply to repealing the Affordable Care Act. That's right. The GOP is so confident the repeal will save money, that they don't want to know if that's true. And if Congress can make it illegal for us to know how much it costs to repeal ObamaCare, I think they might have stumbled on the replacement. Just make it illegal for your doctor to tell you your diagnosis. That way -- that way you'll need insurance as far as you know. 'Well, Mr. Johnston, I have your chart right here. Let's see. And I can't legally tell you how you are. Uh, just make the most of your day. And here's a hint, don't worry about the expiration dates on your food. Your milk's going to be fine.' So Republicans -- so Republicans are right to keep news the dark. I know when someone is screwing me, I like to keep the lights off. And that's the word." [source]

Sunday Reading

CBO Increases Estimate Of The Cost Of The Housing Bubble Collapse

Charles Lane Is Wrong On NAFTA And The Trans-Pacific Partnership
Home Depot  Syndrome, The Purple Squirrel, & America's Job Hunt Rabbit Hole
In Cities, The Average Doctor Wait-Time Is 18.5 Days

Obama, Romney, Ryan All Endorse Retraining for Jobless—But Are They Right?
The Skills Gap Myth
Why Thomas Jefferson Favored Profit Sharing

Deficit Facts

"When President Obama took office in 2009 the deficit was already running at close to a record-setting pace. At the end of that fiscal year, it was $1.4 trillion. That’s “trillion” with a “T”. Ouch. Fiscal 2012 ended on Sept. 30. The final figures aren’t yet in, but at the moment the Congressional Budget Office projects the deficit will be ... (drum roll) $1.1 trillion. So smaller. Not doubled at all," reported Peter Grier.  Did Obama Really Double The Deficit?

"It's worth noting, then, that as of today, the U.S. federal budget deficit has shrunk -- a lot. Obama inherited a deficit of nearly $1.3 trillion from Bush/Cheney the moment he took the oath of office. This year, however, according to the official data published by the Treasury Department, the deficit was $1.089 trillion," explained Steve Benen.  U.S. Budget Deficit Shrinks

Discretionary Spending

Revenues

Federal Employee Compensation

Unionized workers with only a high school diploma earn, roughly, 20 percent more than their private sector counterparts. When we consider age, education, and experience, public sector workers with at least an Bachelors degree, earn less than their private sector counterparts. These are the conclusions of three recent studies (here, here and here). The Congressional Budget Office's latest research on the topic (looking at Federal employees) has found similar results.

"CBO's study compares federal civilian employees and private-sector employees with certain similar observable characteristics. This analysis focuses on wages, benefits, and total compensation between 2005 and 2010."

• Federal civilian workers with no more than a high school education earned about 21 percent more, on average, than similar workers in the private sector.
• Workers whose highest level of education was a bachelor's degree earned roughly the same hourly wages, on average, in both the federal government and the private sector.
• Federal workers with a professional degree or doctorate earned about 23 percent less, on average, than their private-sector counterparts.

For Further Reading:

Right-Wing Assault on State Employee Pensions Based on Falsehoods

Repealing Ryan's Rhetoric

Paul Ryan was given a platform, yet again, by the Journal Sentinel to bash health care reform. As expected, his piece is full of obfuscation and falsehoods.

He begins with the biggest lies regarding health care reform the Republicans are pushing: that it will cost trillions of dollars, it will raise taxes, and it will put government at the center of individual health decisions.

Paul tells us that serious people - policy experts, actuaries, etc. - have looked over the reform and have agreed that it's just smoke and mirrors.

Paul throws around a lot of numbers in an attempt to give his article some gravitas. Everyone else, it appears, is wrong and he has the real numbers. If you haven't heard, Mr. Ryan is a very serious man. Plus, he likes economics (and pretending like he is an economist). Therefore, don't be afraid to let him spoon-feed you his wildly misguided analysis.

Strangely he never mentions any studies or other scholars to support his opinion nor the numbers he cites. One would think, with so many others supposedly in agreement about how terrible health care reform is, Mr. Ryan could at least offer up some supporting evidence.

The best he does is to parrot the right-wing belittling of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO has given nonpartisan, unbiased analysis to both parties on bills since 1974. Republicans are fond of citing the work of the CBO when it fits their goals. When a CBO analysis is in opposition to Republican policy, then the right-wing feels the CBO is full of hacks using smoke and mirrors. And, Mr. Ryan also falsely states that the CBO has admitted reform will increase our national debt. In reality, they have stated that our debt will be lower with the reform than it would have been otherwise. They have also found that repeal could cost $230 billion.

Lets also remember some of the positives accomplished by health care reform:

• 30 million more people have insurance
• insurance companies can no longer cap coverage
• you can no longer be refused for an existing medical condition
• dependent children can remain on the parent's plan until they are 26
• free preventative health care
• small business tax credits
• Medicare expansion to rural areas
• enhanced fraud checks
• improved appeals process

Republicans seriously want to repeal all this? Seems the Republicans are more interested in the health of the insurance companies and other vested interests profiting from our inefficient health system, than in an orderly delivery of health services to American citizens. A better strategy would be for the citizens of Wisconsin to repeal (recall) Mr. Ryan from office. His actions and opinions continually show he does not have much of an interest in the well-being of his constituents.

Having Your CBO & Eating It, Too

Damn that CBO!

But the CBO said...