The Bottom Line: Interactive and Sharable Graphs Comparing the Health Care Bills

CRFB.org - The Bottom Line — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:51:00 -0500

Today, US BudgetWatch updated its Charts Comparing Health Care Reform Bills. The publication compares the House and Senate health care bills through two text charts and four graphs, all exploring different metrics.

Here at The Bottom Line, we have republished the graphs in a way that makes them both interactive and sharable. That means you can explore the charts here, or feauture them on your own website or blog...

Race for Iran: ZERO ENRICHMENT IN IRAN—OR NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

RaceForIran — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:01:00 -0500

Later this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors will meet in Vienna, with Iran’s nuclear program at the top of the agenda. Of course, the Board will discuss the IAEA’s recent inspections of Iran’s newly declared enrichment facility near Qom, as well as the Iranian response to outgoing director general Mohammed ElBaradei’s proposal for refueling the Tehran Research Reactor. But, as has been the case since 2006, discussions of Iranian matters in Vienna will take place under the cloud of three United Nations Security Council resolutions calling on the Islamic Republic to stop all activities related to uranium enrichment. In retrospect, the Board’s decision to refer the Iranian file to the Security Council has hardly facilitated a negotiated solution to the issue; rather, referral to the Security Council—and the Council’s subsequent insistence on suspension—has made it more difficult to reach a solution through thoughtful diplomacy...

The Bottom Line: The True Costs of Health Reform

CRFB.org - The Bottom Line — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Yesterday, the House passed legislation permanently updating physical payments on a deficit-financed basis (against our urging). Although passed separately from their health care bill, it is worth looking comprehensively at the cost of health care reform, as passed by the House of Representatives so far...

The Bottom Line: Updated Health Care Charts

CRFB.org - The Bottom Line — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:50:00 -0500

CRFB has updated its health care chart, comparing the ten-year costs of the most recent legislation passed by the House and the bill introduced by Senator Reid in the Senate yesterday. To compare the most recent Senate bills with the previous HELP and Finance Committee bills, click here...

The Bottom Line: Taxing Health Care Decisions

CRFB.org - The Bottom Line — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:51:00 -0500

Information about the Senate health care bill is trickling in -- word is that coverage provisions will cost $849 billion over ten years and the bill will reduce the deficit by $127 billion. The Joint Committee on taxation has also released its analysis of the bill's $370 billion in taxes.

Compared to the Senate Finance bill, this bill would reduce the tax on high-cost insurance plans so it raises around $150 billion instead of $200 billion, and make up the difference with an increase in the Medicare payroll tax for high earners. At least from a fiscal perspective, this is a big mistake.

We've discussed, before, all of the advantages of an excise tax on high cost plans. For one, since the tax is on health insurance, it grows as fast or faster than health care costs, and therefore makes it a sustainable revenue source.

See for example the growth rates of revenue from the excise tax when compared to the payroll tax increase.

Between 2015 and 2019, revenue from the excise tax is expected to double. Revenue from the payroll tax increase is expected to grow only 30%...

The Bottom Line: Will TARP be Renewed?

CRFB.org - The Bottom Line — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:05:00 -0500

Today, a Wall Street Journal editorial discussed Senator John Thune’s introduction yesterday of a bill that would prevent Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner from extending TARP. The bill would prevent the Treasury from making any new loans, equity purchases, or transfers to financial institutions, but would not affect the $386 billion in outstanding investments...

The Bottom Line: CMS Analyzes House Health Care Bill

CRFB.org - The Bottom Line — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:36:00 -0500

On Friday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a report estimating the effects of the House health care reform bill. Looking only at the spending side of the ledger, they estimate both greater costs and greater savings than does CBO -- netting to roughly $60 billion less overall. We have compiled the differences here, but it is important to note that CBO and CMS work off of different Medicare baselines, meaning that greater savings need not mean lower overall federal spending...

Coll: What If We Fail in Afghanistan?

Think Tank on NewYorker.com — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:20:00 -0500

Last week, I found myself at yet another think tank-type meeting about Afghan policy choices. Toward the end, one of the participants, who had long experience in government, asked a deceptively simple question: What would happen if we failed?...

The Bottom Line: Freezing Discretionary Spending...

CRFB.org - The Bottom Line — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:31:00 -0500

UPDATE: Stan Collender thinks we might be making ice mountains out of snow hills.

According to a number of news reports, President Obama has begun asking agencies to plan for a discretionary spending freeze next year -- or perhaps a 5 percent cut. The President may propose such as initiative as part of a deficit-cutting themed State of the Union address in January...

Karabell: The U.S. and China - The Defining Issue of Our Day

Zachary Karabell — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:02:00 -0500

In his current Asian trip, President Obama visits Japan, then addresses a forum of leaders in Singapore, and eventually ends up in Seoul to discuss nukes and North Korea. But make no mistake, the axis of this week is the time Obama will spend in China, which has catapulted to the forefront of international affairs and is on its way to joining the United States as the alpha and omega of the global economic system...