By Conn Carroll Senior Editorial Writer
When President Obama finally persuaded recalcitrant Democrats to vote for his health care regulation law in 2010 the Congressional Budget Office estimated the plan would cost $940 billion over 10 years. Conservatives warned at the time that the score was a mirage since Democrats had purposely designed the law with CBOs scoring system in mind to get a temporarily lower score.
But now two years later a more accurate picture is coming into view. As the CBOs 10-year budget window slowly expands to encompass all of Obamacares new spending and as gimmicks like the CLASS Act are exposed as the Ponzi scheme frauds that they are the cost of Obamacare keeps rising. Yesterday the CBO released its latest cost estimate of Obamacares spending provisions showing that the law will cost $1.76 trillion through 2022. But even that doesnt capture the laws true price tag.
Since Obamacare will not be fully implemented until 2014 we will not know until next year what a full 10-year cost estimate of the law looks like. But extrapolating yesterdays estimate forward
The Washington Examiners Phil Klein predicts the final ten-year cost of Obamacare will exceed $2 trillion more than double what Obama said it would cost.
And that wasnt the only bad news in the report. Due to weak job growth the CBO estimated that 3 million fewer Americans will receive health insurance from their employer. Medicaid will pick up some of that slack adding an additional 1 million Americans to the welfare rolls. That leaves 2 million fewer Americans insured than the CBO had previously estimated. All told Obamacare will have spent over $2 trillion increasing the percentage of Americans with health insurance from 82 percent today to 93 percent in 2022. And over half of those who receive health insurance thanks to Obamacare will do so through Medicaid
a welfare program with a poor track-record of improving health outcomes.
Campaign 2012
Santorum: Rick Santorum exceeded expectations last night
winning both the Mississippi and Alabama primaries. Newt Gingrich came in second in both primaries.
Romney: Mitt Romney
won two Pacific island caucus contests yesterday. One in Hawaii and one in American Samoa.
Gingrich: After defeats in Alabama and Mississippi Gingrichs campaign sent out an
internal" memo claiming it was only halftime" in the GOP primary and promising Gingrich would fight on in the March 24th Louisiana primary.
Pennsylvania: Santorum is beating Romney 36 to 22 percent in Pennsylvania and trails Obama by one in a general election match-up 44 to 45 percent according to a new
Quinnipiac poll.
Obama: Despite his earlier flip-flop on raising money for Super PACs Obamas Super PAC run by former-aide Bill Burton is
still failing to raise money. Priorities USAthe name of Burtons PAC raised only $2 million in February half of which came from misogynist Bill Maher. But the AFL-CIO
announced Tuesday that they will spend $500 million on ads supporting Obama.
Poll: A new
Bloomberg poll shows Obama and Romney tied at 47 percent in a head-to-head match-up. Santorum trails Obama by 6 50 to 44 percent.
Around the Bigs
The Washington Examiner Chu renounces his desire for higher gas prices: Energy Secretary Steven Chu renounced his previously-stated desire to see gas prices rise to match European levels in order to motivate alternative energy research telling the Senate yesterday that he wants gas prices to fall for the sake of the economy.
CNBC Senate defeats tax break for natural gas trucks: A plan for subsidizing natural gas trucks backed by billionaire T. Boone Pickens was defeated in the Senate yesterday after conservative groups identified it as unnecessary interference with the free market.
The Hill Democrats want Senate action on judges before considering Republican jobs bill: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid D-Nev. has announced he will not bring the House Republican JOBS Act to the floor until he gets votes on 17 judicial nominations.
Politico David Axelrod bails on Bill Maher: David Axelrod will not be appearing as a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher" despite reports last week that he was scheduled to do the show in the next few weeks. Axelrod has led the fight against Rush Limbaugh for derogatory comments he made about a contraceptive activist Sandra Fluke. Maher has made even more vile comments about Sarah Palin.
Reuters Obamas approval rating up to 50 percent: A Reuters/Ipsos poll that used a sample made up of 51 percent Democrats and only 38 percent Republicans found that Obamas approval rating had risen to 50 percent.
Righty Playbook
RedStates Erick Erickson points out that we really didnt learn much last night: The problem is two-fold now. The base doesnt like Romney but the base doesnt really like the other options either. At the same time the base does not want this primary to end."
The Weekly Standards Jay Cost says Santorum won by poaching Gingrichs rural vote.
AEIs James Pethokoukis highlights an excerpt from a new book on Obamas economic team that he says sums up the entire Obama presidency.
Lefty Playbook
Digby explains that progressives wanted Obama to give more speeches on health care so that he would mobilize his followers to push for more liberal reformfrom their representatives.
The Washington Monthly blames deregulation for the decline of Cincinnati airport.
At
Daily Kos Hunter attacks Romney for saying he knows some NFL team owners.
