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Obam's Infomercial Skips Budget Realities

TexasBred

Well-known member
WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office.

Obama's assertion that "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond" the expense of his promises is accepted only by his partisans. His vow to save money by "eliminating programs that don't work" masks his failure throughout the campaign to specify what those programs are — beyond the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

A sampling of what voters heard in the ad, and what he didn't tell them:

THE SPIN: "That's why my health care plan includes improving information technology, requires coverage for preventive care and pre-existing conditions and lowers health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year."

THE FACTS: His plan does not lower premiums by $2,500, or any set amount. Obama hopes that by spending $50 billion over five years on electronic medical records and by improving access to proven disease management programs, among other steps, consumers will end up saving money. He uses an optimistic analysis to suggest cost reductions in national health care spending could amount to the equivalent of $2,500 for a family of four. Many economists are skeptical those savings can be achieved, but even if they are, it's not a certainty that every dollar would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums.

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THE SPIN: "I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care."

THE FACTS: That belief should not be confused with a guarantee of health coverage for all. He makes no such promise. Obama hinted as much in the ad when he said about the problem of the uninsured: "I want to start doing something about it." He would mandate coverage for children but not adults. His program is aimed at making insurance more affordable by offering the choice of government-subsidized coverage similar to that in a plan for federal employees and other steps, including requiring larger employers to share costs of insuring workers.

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THE SPIN: "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost."

THE FACTS: Independent analysts say both Obama and Republican John McCain would deepen the deficit. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates Obama's policy proposals would add a net $428 billion to the deficit over four years — and that analysis accepts the savings he claims from spending cuts. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, whose other findings have been quoted approvingly by the Obama campaign, says: "Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years." The analysis goes on to say: "Neither candidate's plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified."

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THE SPIN: "Here's what I'll do. Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year. Give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. over the next two years and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help homeowners who are making a good faith effort to pay their mortgages, by freezing foreclosures for 90 days. And just like after 9-11, we'll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open. "

THE FACTS: His proposals — the tax cuts, the low-cost loans, the $15 billion a year he promises for alternative energy, and more — cost money, and the country could be facing a record $1 trillion deficit next year. Indeed, Obama recently acknowledged — although not in his commercial — that: "The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals."
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
backhoeboogie said:
TexasBred said:
THE SPIN: "I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care."

Someone has to define what is "affordable health care". People who can pay it now are obviously affording it.

lol, true.....heck I've never heard a good definition of a "windfall profit". I either expected profit or the deal didn't fly. It was no windfall.. it was the plan.
 

backhoeboogie

Well-known member
TexasBred said:
backhoeboogie said:
TexasBred said:
THE SPIN: "I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care."

Someone has to define what is "affordable health care". People who can pay it now are obviously affording it.

lol, true.....heck I've never heard a good definition of a "windfall profit". I either expected profit or the deal didn't fly. It was no windfall.. it was the plan.

True.

If the Pelosi dims got open heart surgery cost down to $500, some one is going to cry that they cannot afford that. $500 will not even cover the doctor's malpractice insurance premium for that operation. For them, this is not "afforable health care". They would probably moan if it cost $100.

Without specifics, everything is just pie in the sky. It is sort of like Obama's repetitive "We're looking in to that" reply.

The seat belt laws were supposed to lower insurance premiums. Did your rates go down? I've paid fines several times but my insurance rates never decreased. :D :D

The mandated ENFORCED liability insurance laws were supposed to lower our insurance premiums. Did your rates go down?

The fact is my rates have constantly gone up.
 

fff

Well-known member
"Budget realities!" What a hoot! The Republican/Conservatives have run us into the deepest debt hole in this nation's history. They've bled us dry with high gasoline prices, inflated home values, wrung the last drop out of our 401Ks and IRAs, damaged our military to the point it will cost multibillions to fix it, plus the medical care for the wounded and mained and you have the gall to say Obama's ignoring budget realities. :roll:

I didn't watch the program last night, but, IMO, the fact that Obama could talk for 30 minutes and never mention McCain's name is remarkable. He has ideas, he has plans. McCain can't talk five minutes without bashing Obama. He ain't got squat, except fear and smear. Will they work again? We'll see next week.
 

backhoeboogie

Well-known member
fff said:
" inflated home values,

:D :D :D :D

Did you get suckered in to paying $125K for a travel trailer on 1/8 acre in Los Angeles? If someone is willing to pay that, it is worth that. I hope it wasn't you who did. But if you did, why would you blame that on dubya?
 
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