Obama to Sign $141 Billion Increase to Debt (or Deficit, or Something)
In the end, most of the opponents were hardline Republican fiscal hawks who complained that the permanent “doc fix” wasn’t fully paid for, including Sens. Ted Cruz (TX) and Marco Rubio (FL). It is projected by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to add $141 billion to the deficit in the next decade.
Notably, numerous GOP fiscal hawks who have a background as physicians put aside their deficit concerns to vote for the measure, including Sen. Rand Paul (KY), Sen. John Barrasso (WY), Rep. Tom Price (GA), Rep. John Fleming (LA) and Michael Burgess (TX). The Medicare benefit cuts were a draw for some conservatives.
“Thanks for all your hard work, Mitch,” Senate Finance Chair Orrin Hatch (R-UT) whispered to McConnell on the floor seconds after the bill passed.
I don’t know what that means, add $141 billion to the “deficit” over the next decade. The deficit is the annual shortfall, subtracting expenditures from receipts. Adding $141 billion to this number “over the next decade” makes no sense to me. $141 billion per year? What are you people trying to say? How’s about you spell it out for once?
For now I’ll assume the best, as reflected in the headline: they mean “debt” and not “deficit.” I’m sure I’m wrong.
So.
Rand is for fiscal responsibility unless it’s inconvenient, which it generally is. Ted Cruz is for fiscal responsibility all the time, so (conventional wisdom says) he can’t possibly be elected.
If conventional wisdom is correct, we are screwed.
Which, it is generally is. And we generally are. Screwed, that is.
Ding.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/16/2015 @ 10:26 pmThe “doc fix” isn’t about fiscal responsibility. You want that, reform Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
Nearly 20 years ago, in a one-time BS move to cover the deficit, payments to doctors and providers was capped and so was the growth, which didn’t even keep pace with the increasing costs of being in practice. Doctors were already accepting below-market reimbursement. If the “fix” isn’t passed each cycle, more doctors will just stop losing money on Medicare.
So your “concern” is really just a version of “tax the rich doctors.” But it’s a voluntary tax. How do you think it would work out?
Estragon (ada867) — 4/16/2015 @ 10:33 pmBipartisan: Any measure or cause so venal or stupid that it attracts idiots from both parties.
C. S. P. Schofield (a196fd) — 4/17/2015 @ 12:30 amShe is such a gift that one.
Thanks so much for all you do.
happyfeet (831175) — 4/17/2015 @ 2:27 amI bet Sarah voted.
mg (31009b) — 4/17/2015 @ 3:11 amEstragon is totally right on this one. 18 years ago the government created the SGR formula to limit payments to doctors, but it was a non-viable mechanism because most doctors would have to stop seeing Medicare patients if forced to accept that kind of pay cut – they already have enormous overhead from complying with so many expensive BS government regulations.. The “Doc Fix” has been repeatedly passed as a temporary band-aid, kicking the can down the street, because setting rates according to the SGR meant few doctors would see Medicare patients unless the government started forcing them to..
Does this bill really add to the deficit? Only if you pretend that there was a chance the 1997 SGR savings were ever going to be realized. If you admit that the Doc Fix has always been passed and was going to be passed again, then ending the SGR permanently doesn’t cost us anything extra. The SGR needed to be killed. It was time to cease the annual charade and stop pretending that government was going to save a bunch of money by screwing over doctors.
So if we were never going to save money by enforcing the SGR, what did we lose? Should the politicians have found cuts elsewhere in the budget in order to kill the SGR? Would it have been worth it to hold the Doc Fix hostage to find random spending cuts now? Of all the hills we’ve had over the last few years, was this hill seriously the one you want to die on? Give me my cuts or we’re going to threaten you with the SGR again next year? The fact that Congress can’t find anywhere in the entire budget to cut is nothing new. I agree, we are screwed. But I don’t think it’s a reason to continue the Doc Fix charade and hold up this permanent Medicare fix. The whole system needs to be completely redone, but no one believed the SGR was realistic.
Mike Lee’s amendment would have required that Congress pay for getting rid of the SGR by finding other spending cuts. That would’ve been better, I agree, and thankfully all the fiscal conservatives supported this amendment including Cruz and Rand. But it didn’t have enough GOPe support. I don’t blame anyone who voted for final passage of this bill, especially if they supported Lee’s amendment to make it technically deficit neutral. We weren’t going to get anything better here. We were never going to realize the SGR savings. It’s time we finally admitted it, instead of continuing the annual SGR budget games we started 18 years ago.
As for what this means for the primary: “Ted Cruz is for fiscal responsibility all the time,” really Patterico? Cruz has been good on budgetary matters, I totally agree. But just last month during the budget battle, Cruz voted against Rand’s amendment to pay for DoD spending increases by making real cuts elsewhere in the budget, while supporting the Rubio-Cotton amendment that would’ve added $190 billion to the deficit over the next 2 years. Neither amendment passed, and both Rand and Cruz voted against the final budget. But I find this sequence much more telling than what happened with the Doc Fix. I wish I could find your post, Patterico, in which you highlighted Cruz’s support for Rubio’s budget busting amendment.. $190B over 2 yr is a lot more than $141B over 10 yr.. AND Cruz voted against Rand’s deficit neutral amendment.. This didn’t bother you at all?
And are you really going to single Rand Paul out like that, criticizing him like he’s some kind of squish? “For fiscal responsibility unless it’s inconvenient, which it generally is”? Because of this one vote, ignoring the details of the Doc Fix and its 18 year history? Why don’t you cover Rand Paul’s three budget proposals as a senator? Those 3 budgets were recently highlighted by Vox on 4/7 (“This is what Rand Paul actually wants to do as president”). Big government Leftists hate Rand for his spending cuts, but at least they are REAL cuts immortalized in writing. Per the Vox article: “The gap between Paul’s [2014] budget and Ryan’s is nearly as big as the gap between Ryan’s and Democrats’.” I would have liked to see even ONE budget proposal by Cruz so far. Voting no on bills that are going to pass anyway is fine, and I like both Senators, but I’d like to see more specifics from Cruz like I’ve seen from Rand before I pass the crown on who’s the most fiscal conservative. Serious suggestion: cover Rand’s 3 budgets on your blog, as Vox did, and walk back what you said about Rand being fiscally irresponsible. Otherwise I question whether your bias will prevent you from covering the primary race between Rand and Cruz fairly.. And I say all this as a fan of your blog. Keep up the good work.
Rob Westbrook (9a3864) — 4/17/2015 @ 4:31 amThe end of this happy horsesh!t is on its way as hundreds of $Billions in petrodollar asets are liquidated worldwide.
Bet the doctors will be Ok until Divorce Court when their assets are sold for 80 cents on the dollar.
DNF (208255) — 4/17/2015 @ 4:38 am“Serious suggestion: cover Rand’s 3 budgets on your blog, as Vox did …”
This just cracked me up.
JD (3b5483) — 4/17/2015 @ 5:14 amGrexit, Fed rate increase during recession, ISIS poised at the border, MH370 fueled and armed, ..
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-16/signs-elites-are-feverishly-preparing-something-big
The music is about to stop, grab your chair.
DNF (208255) — 4/17/2015 @ 5:17 am9. Cont.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-15/no-matter-who-wins-white-house-new-boss-will-be-same-old-boss
DNF (208255) — 4/17/2015 @ 5:23 amThe solution to the “doc fix” issue is to make balance billing legal. That means that the Medicare payment is fixed and negotiable with some reasonable doctor representative groups, not the AMA. The doctors would then be permitted to charge what they wanted and patients would be allowed to pay extra to see the doctor they wanted to see. This would instantly introduce a market mechanism. It is very late in the game to do this. It should have been done 25 years ago if not earlier. This is the basis of the French system which I have supported since I researched health care about ten years ago.
What would happen is that the better doctors would be willing to see Medicare patients and the pressure of the market would be used to control prices. If someone is the best in town, maybe enough patients will pay more to keep him in the market. If not, he will have to charge less. The whole thing would be transparent. The promise of “free care” would be seen as the fraud that it is.
Mike K (90dfdc) — 4/17/2015 @ 5:42 am9. Cont. Sen. Cruz:
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2015/04/second-amendment-ted-cruz-throws-down.html?m=1
DNF (208255) — 4/17/2015 @ 5:57 amDNF, Re: Cruz. Your #12 link is worth saving. No compromise on the meaning the 2nd Amendment, which is comforting (imagine the “nuanced” response our recent Presidential Candidates would have fumbled through …). The Chicago emergency center for the Fed does seem strange. They changed the wording that authorizes the NY Fed to be the focal point for their dabbling in the credit markets so that it now says “Selected Bank” instead of NY Fed so that another District could be designated as the actor, no need to do a frantic Search-and-Replace when disaster strikes … just say the Selected Bank is now whatever. It would seem more sensible to have a designated alternate, and then install the backup there. But a few more guaranteed votes for the D’s is always welcome in Chicago, I’m sure.
bobathome (ef0d3a) — 4/17/2015 @ 6:47 amfood stamp is going all chiraq on the white house adding spikes and there’s probably gonna be some pit bulls running around too
we knew he was gonna be ghetto-fabulous but lil wizzer keeps surprising to the upside
happyfeet (a037ad) — 4/17/2015 @ 6:53 amDNF 9,
Your link mentions the recent Walmart store closings. Those are indeed strange.
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/17/2015 @ 7:29 amRob Westbrook:
The majority of your comment, boiled down, makes this argument: they’re going to lose this argument anyway and they will never get offsetting cuts, so why keep fighting it? This is the sort of attitude I believe Cruz is fighting, and a go-along-to-get-along vote like Paul’s is the sort of business-as-usual attitude that needs to go.
Paul may have wonderful budgetary ideas, but if he doesn’t have the spine to implement them, they are just words on paper (or a computer screen).
When I get time I will look into Cruz’s support for the Rubio measure you mentioned. I can imagine Cruz being fiscally irresponsible to fund the military, and if that turns out to be true I will qualify my statement regarding his unwavering fiscal responsibility. Remind me if I forget, but give me the weekend.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2015 @ 7:33 amEstrogen and Rob Westbrook,
Permanently passing the Doc Fix makes one more interest group — in this case, doctors — more willing to support socialized medicine.
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/17/2015 @ 7:36 amOne view on the politics of the defense bill.
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/17/2015 @ 7:42 amMy goodness, DRJ, I think you just gave “them” an idea.
felipe (b5e0f4) — 4/17/2015 @ 7:43 am#19 was for #17.
felipe (b5e0f4) — 4/17/2015 @ 7:44 amEstragon,
I apologize re your name above. I know how to spell it but apparently Auto-correct doesn’t.
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/17/2015 @ 8:01 amHere’s another report on Cruz’s vote for Rubio’s defense amendment and his ultimate vote against the budget.
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/17/2015 @ 8:03 amTrue, felipe, although I have a feeling “they” have already figured out that some groups can be bought.
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/17/2015 @ 8:04 amre Estragon’s point about doctors and costs: i’d feel their pain more if so many of
seeRpea (d1cf05) — 4/17/2015 @ 8:23 amthese doctors weren’t living in mansions and driving big fancy cars. To me what the
“doc fix” does is help to support a lavish life style.
So I would change the “doc fix” by applying an income testing rule AND a way to fund the ‘doc fix’.
Patterico – I disagree with your interpretation of Rob Westbrook’s comment. He describes the ongoing saga of the Doc Fix and points out that both Cruz and Paul voted for Mike Lee’s proposal to pay for the Doc Fix but it did not have enough votes to pass. I think an annual budget charade like the Doc Fix should be fixed rather continually kicked down the road as a gimmick. It sounds like that was attempted and failed.
Paul’s paid for expansion of defense spending as described further in the links supplied by DRJ on the surface sound like a missed opportunity for fiscal conservatives. I am very interested in hearing what budget proposals Cruz has made relative to Paul. I think I have missed them.
Without checking what Rob said, he seems to have made valid points which you tried to breezily dismiss. I would be interest in a less partisan, fairer answer to the questions he raised.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/17/2015 @ 8:47 amfirst of all, starting from talking chicken scratch is probably a bad move:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/14/medicare-doc-fix-senate-vote/25776861/
I ignored the Puffington Host account, because it’s likely to be flawed as well,
narciso (ee1f88) — 4/17/2015 @ 8:57 amsome more detail here:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/04/14/taxpayer-calculator-doc-fix/
narciso (ee1f88) — 4/17/2015 @ 9:00 am“re Estragon’s point about doctors and costs: i’d feel their pain more if so many of
these doctors weren’t living in mansions and driving big fancy cars. To me what the
“doc fix” does is help to support a lavish life style.”
seeRpea – In my area I don’t see most of the general practice MD’s I know getting rich, living in mansions and driving fancy cars these days. That seems to be reserved for specialists. Just my observation.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/17/2015 @ 9:07 amSerious question – does “fiscal responsibility” mean only reducing spending? Or can it also mean increasing tax revenues?
Jonny Scrum-half (89bc86) — 4/17/2015 @ 9:42 amit just means reducing spending
happyfeet (a037ad) — 4/17/2015 @ 9:45 am==both Cruz and Paul voted for Mike Lee’s proposal to pay for the Doc Fix but it did not have enough votes to pass. I think an annual budget charade like the Doc Fix should be fixed rather continually kicked down the road as a gimmick. It sounds like that was attempted and failed.==
Yes.
The one year “doc fix” being renewed is the only thing that keeps many doctors willing to see Medicare patients at all for general care. Without it, they and their practice would essentially lose money on every current Medicare patient they see, and few would/could continue for very long. The “doc fix” had to be passed. But the problem of reasonable reimbursement needs to be addressed sanely and more permanently as several (including Mike K.) have pointed out. The “doc fix” itself is not the problem. It is the way the political games are played to achieve its necessary result that is the problem. This is a vastly more complex issue than some are suggesting. And as more boomers are moving into Medicare range it becomes increasingly important to address.
It’s deja-vu all over again! Below is link to WAPO article last year when the doc fix was approved.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/03/31/for-17th-time-in-11-years-congress-delays-medicare-reimbursement-cuts-as-senate-passes-doc-fix/
elissa (cb946d) — 4/17/2015 @ 9:53 amJonny Scrum-half – Nothing prevents you from paying more taxes to reduce the deficit and pay down the debt any time you want. In fact, Democrats claim it is patriotic, so I suggest you go for it!
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/17/2015 @ 10:22 amSpeaking of getting screwed by Obama:
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/04/17/obama-administration-declined-to-organize-a-rescue-mission-for-americans-in-yemen/
This is disgusting. I’m sick and tired of this “Commander in Chief” declaring it’s too dangerous for US forces to do WHAT WE PLAN AND TRAIN FOR OUR ENTIRE CAREERS!
The WH didn’t have time to organize a rescue? Well knock me over with a feather! I spent 20 years in the Navy and this is the first time I heard that’s the job of the preezy and his staff. We used to have these things called contingency plans. And we’d constantly update them. In fact, that was one of the major tasks we had on cruise. That’s what we did while underway, and that’s what we did in working port visits.
And some of those contingency plans were called Non-combatant Evacuation Operations. If you’re interested you can read all about how to plan and conduct them here:
http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp3_68.pdf
And here’s some history of the USN/USMC doing EXACTLY what Prom Queen claims is too f&%$ing dangerous to do.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/sharp_edge.htm
I guarantee you if there’s a carrier or a large deck amphib anywhere nearby they have a contingency plan to conduct a NEO sitting on their shelf, waiting to be executed.
OMFG, it’s not done at the WH.
This reminds me of the “Panetta doctrine” about not sending people into harms way unless you have perfect intelligence. Or as the bloggers at Blackfive renamed it, “The stupidest s*** I ever heard.”
Steve57 (cd6f9a) — 4/17/2015 @ 11:02 amNow we can return to how President Mean Girl is screwing us all at home, as well as abroad.
Steve57 (cd6f9a) — 4/17/2015 @ 11:03 amcardinal picklehead died people are sad
now you can be sad too
happyfeet (a037ad) — 4/17/2015 @ 11:15 amhttp://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/u/us-navy-in-desert-shield-desert-storm/desert-storm-overview-the-role-of-the-navy.html
It’s disgusting when Prom Queen always hides behind somebody. Usually it’s some woman’s skirts, like Susan Rice’s (his designated liar). Here he’s hiding behind the US military. In a way it’s a form of blame shifting, something he always does.
Tiger Beat wants everyone to believe he’s the bestest, most caring CinC EVAH! In reality he’s just using his feigned concern for the armed forces as an excuse not to act. He always can come up with an excuse not to act. There’s a reason only 15% of the troops have any respect for them. And those 15% have to be the s***birds we were always trying to get rid of.
Sorry, I wasn’t done with my rant.
Steve57 (cd6f9a) — 4/17/2015 @ 11:19 amFreudian slip. Clearly I meant President Miley Cyrus and uber-President Rasputin Jarrett.
Steve57 (cd6f9a) — 4/17/2015 @ 11:29 amI’m sick of this anti-American crew; giving legitimacy to Iran’s nuclear weapons programs, spending us into oblivion, leaving our borders wide open, degrading military readiness, refusing to rescue Americans using the excuse it’s too hard, as if no one ever did it before, and pretending the US military is too precious to go into harm’s way.
So, let’s hark back to when we were such a great nation people like this wanted to fight and die for it.
http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2015/04/fullbore-friday_17.html
And he proceeded to do exactly that. He was recommended for the MoH in Korea four times, but his officers kept getting killed. And his First Sergeant was a rabid Jooo hater who said he rather be court martialed than forward the paperwork. Then proceeded to send him on suicide missions. And Rubin proceeded to rack up a string of heroic actions that you wouldn’t believe in a movie.
He finally got his MoH in 2005. It’s got maybe half of his bad-@$$ery in it.
http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/rubin/citation/index.html
There’s a video of President Bush’s remarks at the award ceremony at the first link.
How low we have sunk.
Steve57 (cd6f9a) — 4/17/2015 @ 12:02 pmabsence of evidence, is evidence of absence:
http://thefederalist.com/2015/04/17/what-it-would-take-to-prove-global-warming/
narciso (ee1f88) — 4/17/2015 @ 12:23 pm“re Estragon’s point about doctors and costs: i’d feel their pain more if so many of
these doctors weren’t living in mansions and driving big fancy cars. To me what the
“doc fix” does is help to support a lavish life style.”
Nothing like a little class warfare, envy, and progressive taxation.
JD (3b5483) — 4/17/2015 @ 12:35 pmre #28: i think you are correct.
re #40: you brought those prejudices with you JD, i didn’t , as can be seen by your cherry picking.
seeRpea (d1cf05) — 4/17/2015 @ 1:13 pmand rebelling against my tax dollars going to others is not “progressive taxation”, that is “income redistribution”.
DRJ @15
kishnevi (91d5c6) — 4/17/2015 @ 1:22 pmIt would be interesting to know the age of those buildings. They may be old enough to require ripping out old pipes under the floor, which means in the end renovating the entire store. Or it may be an excuse to close underperforming stores.
Steve, it all makes sense if you presume that Obola isn’t concerned about our troops. Every time our military engages the enemy with a clear goal, like evacuating American citizens, or freeing Kuwait, they take care of business. Prom Queen is more likely concerned about the pain and suffering we’d inflict on the barbarians. Remember, he has yet to earn his Nobel Peace Prize.
And to add a little interest to what’s happening in Iraq, we’ve given the Iraqi’s 1700 Hellfire missiles. This is about 1650 more than they’re likely to use in combat, meaning that they can distribute the surplus gear to their new buddies, the Iranians, the Chinese, the Russians, and a few stateless enterprises yet to be named. Look for exciting times in the Persian Gulf.
bobathome (ef0d3a) — 4/17/2015 @ 3:39 pmbobathome, believe me sir, I know Obama despises the troops. And the troops know it too.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/16/army-survey-morale/24897455/
They’re watching Obama destroy everything that made the US military the most powerful and effective in the world. They’re watching Tiger Beat hand back to his Islamist friends places they, and their friends, fought and bled and died for in Iraq. They watched this administration airbrush out any reference to Islamic terrorism from it’s Ft. Hood Report. Indeed, there is no mention of Nidal Hassan in that report. And after Hassan killed 13 people shouting Allahu Akbar Obama’s Army CoS declared that it would be an even greater tragedy if that atrocity hurt his precious diversity initiatives. Now the Army has declared fighting sexual assault their top priority. Over and above fighting and winning wars. Clearly the administration is onboard with the feminazis who believe all men are rapists. If fighting sexual assault is the Army’s top priority, then the soldiers themselves are this administration’s greatest enemy rather than any foreign foe. How could they not know President Mean Girl has contempt for them? And the fact that Prom Queen gave them an “optimism program” is nothing but a deliberate insult.
What kind of fools write for the USA Today, that scratch their heads and wonder, “Gee, why didn’t that ‘optimism program’ work?”
That’s the military version of the Obamacare plan to deny undesirables the heart surgery they need, but instead give them a placebo and send them home to die.
It’s the same all over.
I despise this creature in the WH. Apparently there’s a “f*** you” clause in the Constitution that nobody every discovered before, and he’s applying it liberally to everything he touches.
Steve57 (cd6f9a) — 4/17/2015 @ 4:19 pmAmusingly, ABC reports this happened by mistake. Like all those bodies filling body bags in Mexico following the F&F gun running program, this was the predicted, inevitable, and therefore the intended result of Mean Girl’s policy.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-kentucky-us-dozens-terrorists-country-refugees/story?id=20931131
Everybody pointed out importing these people was insanity. There was no way to vet them. The administration new it. The terrorists knew it. And the administration did it anyway.
It’s just uber-President Rasputin Jarrett, employing that newly discovered Eff You clause of the Constitution.
Anyway, I believe the original topic is about how the Eff You clause relates to increasing the Debt.
Steve57 (cd6f9a) — 4/17/2015 @ 4:58 pmSeeRPea – how was your comment not that? Means testing to punish those lavish living docs is hardly a conservative view. Some people are more worthy of being compensated for their time and skill than others? How should we properly take your comment?
JD (3b5483) — 4/17/2015 @ 5:56 pmOK, this is just completely O/T but it’s bad. It’s very bad. And it’s all Prom Queen’s fault, as he invited it.
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/239295-us-officials-concerned-about-iranian-convoy-headed-towards-yemen
Are these people friggin’ idiots or what? If the Iranians control the Straight of Hormuz and the Bab al Mandeb they control approx. 22% of the world’s shipping.
Yes, they are communicating to their prison girlfriend, Prom Queen, that they have his number. Putin did the same thing a little while back.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/11/europe/russia-u-s-plane-intercept/
I’d bet my ’71 El Camino that the crew didn’t believe the Russian pilot’s actions were “unprofessional.” That the crew understood the Russians were communicating just like the Iranians are now. Especially when the fighter moved in close and rolled to display his weapons load.
But Prom Queen has to maintain the integrity of his bubble.
Prediction: there is no way Prom Queen is going to confront his (wannabe) jock boyfriends, the Iranians. And the Iranians are feeling their oats knowing they’re getting the S-300 from the Russians. And all their demands met from Obama in a new round of caving. And soon their nukes.
Just imagine; they’ll be the “successful regional power” Obama says he always hoped they would be. And no doubt much more, thanks to Tiger Beat. Historic! Legacy!
Somehow I’m thinking the debt may not be the wolf closest to the sled.
Steve57 (cd6f9a) — 4/17/2015 @ 6:33 pm