A bipartisan push is needed to tame ballooning national debt

[and-justice-for-all]

So, what was he saying about shurbs funding for the war machine?? As I do recall, that is the reason why we have a monster of a deficit.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/19/bayh.debt.bipartisan.commission/index.html

[BeFree]

1. Bipartisan?

Nah, we just need a super majority of Dems.

The pubbies blew the debt all to hell.

Cheney said reagan proved debts didn't matter to his pubbies.

[bikingaz]

2. People don't understand what this debt will mean

Most posts lately seem to deal with the inane things such Sarah Palin potential run for president or Obama's bow to the Emperor.
Meanwhile the money printing presses are working overtime and we worry about that minor stuff or freaking football scores that will mean nothing in 6 months. And that debt will be with us forever.

[TomCADem]

3. Which Is Why Health Care Reform Is So Important!

There is no way we can begin to seriously address the deficit without reforming health care. Both bills are projected to reduce the deficit.

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[slipslidingaway]

5. Both bills reduce the deficit because they collect money for a new long term care....

plan that will not have any cash outlays in the beginning years.

Senate bill...

bottom of page 11
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10731/Reid_letter_11_18_09.pdf

"The legislation includes a number of other provisions with a significant budgetary effect.

They include the following:

 Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) provisions, which
would establish a voluntary federal program for long-term care insurance. Active
workers could purchase coverage, usually through their employer. Premiums
would be set to cover the full cost of the program as measured on an actuarial
basis. However, the program’s cash flows would show net receipts for a number of
years, followed by net outlays in subsequent decades. In particular, the program
would pay out far less in benefits than it would receive in premiums over the
10-year budget window, reducing deficits by about $72 billion over that period,
including about $2 billion in savings to Medicaid..."


---- House bill...links

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6915576&mesg_id=6916406

Generating revenue to cover the plan's cost over the 10 year period...bottom of page 7 in the CBO report. While the program itself sounds good, notice how this new piece reduces the deficit by 72 billion in the 10 year window.

Nice way to reduce the cost for Now.

The headline news was that this bill would reduce the deficit by 104 billion...

BREAKING: CBO Releases Numbers On House Health Care Bill : Reduce Deficit by $104 Billion

...so where did that reduction come from, it appears a large portion (72 billion) is due to this new long term care insurance, aka CLASS.

While that is something to celebrate, the plan would have people paying in over the 10 year budget window for something they will need in the future, naturally this will be all gains until people start drawing from the fund. For reference this is shown on page 26, Table 3 of the CBO report.

It reminded me of the SS Trust Fund that was pre-financed and helped to reduce the deficits, especially during the Clinton and Bush years...]/b]

[slipslidingaway]

6. New CBO report, additional deficit reduction due to the CLASS program...

http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10741/hr3962Revised.pdf

Honorable John D. Dingell
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman:

"The Congressional Budget Office has revised its estimate of the net budgetary impact—
transmitted on November 6, 2009—of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for
America Act. In that November 6 letter, CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on
Taxation (JCT) estimated that changes in direct spending and revenues from enacting
H.R. 3962 would yield a net reduction in federal budget deficits of $109 billion over the
2010-2019 period. CBO and JCT now estimate that the legislation would yield a net
reduction in deficits of $138 billion over the 10-year period, correcting a mistake that
CBO made in its earlier assessment of the impact of section 2581 of the legislation,
which would establish the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports
(CLASS) program..."

[slipslidingaway]

4. + 2.5 Trillion ...

you are so right, many times we are swayed by the talk of the day and ignore the real issues.

Welcome to DU :)


"...There is precedent to create this type of commission with real teeth. President Ronald Reagan created a commission, chaired by Alan Greenspan, to shore up Social Security in the early 1980s..."

They raised the SS taxes to build up a 2.5 Trillion trust fund for the baby boom generation, which will now be difficult to pay back.