Under questioning by members of the Senate Budget Committee, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, said bills crafted by House leaders and the Senate health committee do not propose "the sort of fundamental changes" necessary to rein in the skyrocketing cost of government health programs, particularly Medicare. On the contrary, Elmendorf said, the measures would pile on an expensive new program to cover the uninsured.
Though President Obama and Democratic leaders have repeatedly pledged to alter the soaring trajectory -- or cost curve -- of federal health spending, the proposals so far would not meet that goal, Elmendorf said, noting, "The curve is being raised." His remarks suggested that rather than averting a looming fiscal crisis, the measures could make the nation's bleak budget outlook even worse.
The whole idea that handing over health care decisions to the government will lower costs is absurd. Conservatives know it; liberals know it; everyone knows it. That's why Obama is pushing so hard to get his plan through Congress before August -- before the public catches on -- just as he did his "stimulus" plan, his massive budget increases, and his "cap and trade" energy tax.
Anyone who watches the news has to wonder why "cost saving," "revenue neutral" health care "reform" is expected to cost over $1,000,000,000,000. A trillion dollars is a bit more expensive than "saving us money." Which is why we see dozens of proposals for new ways to raise taxes -- on soft drinks, alcohol, employer-provided health care, gasoline, electricity, and a host of other things, including the imposition of a national sales tax. So much for Obama's promise that 95% of Americans won't see a tax increase.
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