"Calculations by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and other independent fiscal experts show that the $1.1 trillion cost over the next 10 years of the Medicare prescription drug program, which the Republican-controlled Congress adopted in 2003, by itself would add more to the deficit than the combined costs of the bailout, the stimulus and the health care law." Oh dear. Now who is bankrupting the nation again? barfo
I think you're reaching a bit...while I agree that we shouldn't be going into debt for MediCare, the Medicare bill you're speaking of as being adopted by the "Republican-controlled Congress", was passed 54-44. 12 D's and I's voted yes, and 9 R's voted no. 2 D's (Kerry and Lieberman) didn't vote. I'd say this seemed more like a consensus than the Stimulus Bill or Health Care bill...which had almost unanimous minority opposition.
Both parties are, which is why the Republicans were thrown out of office in 2006 and 2008. It wasn't that the electorate wanted to shift to big government liberalism, it's they wanted to throw them bums out. As for the CBO, you know they can only evaluate the set of assumptions put in front of them, right? For example, the CBO still is counting the $500B that Congress really isn't going to cut from Medicare. For an honest accounting of the costs of these bills, you have to look to think tanks or universities, which can make more realistic assumptions.
