Medicare’s deficit 3 times larger? Shocker!

“An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry.”~George Eliot,Felix Holt, Chapter 5

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Sunday morning, the chickens learned from two former independent public trustees for Medicare and Social Security what the foxes in our political hierarchy were up to with their recent budget forecasts for Medicare :

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… the program’s long-term deficit may be roughly three times what the trustees projected.

. . .

In addition, for the third consecutive year there were no independent Medicare trustees to issue a separate statement. Without them, the Obama administration was able to put forward an unjustifiably positive outlook for the Medicare program and the impact of the health care legislation. If public trustees had been in place, they could have helped ensure that a more realistic view was presented in the report, possibly including a reasonable best estimate along the lines set out in the chief actuary’s alternative.

Politician’s fudging the numbers?

Say it ain’t so!

But don’t worry. It’s only America’s health care we’re taking about. The new entitlement programs will be better.Much better.

Really.

. . .

What’s that?

Why don’t you trust me?