[ Via Boston.com: Conservatives express little surprise as Bush boosts estimated Medicare costs by a third ]
"The president's budget, to be released Monday, will also project a federal deficit this year of about $520 billion, congressional aides said. That would far exceed this year's $375 billion, the highest ever in dollar terms."
I'm not sure why they're so surprised by a $145 billion increase in subsidies to the drug companies. The subsidy will surely get bigger as time marches along. Drug company stocks are looking pretty good right now, just like they did when the the health care package plowed its way through congress last year. The way it's going, we should just put Pharma in charge of Social Security. They get most of that cash anyway. Skip the middleman and send the checks right on over.
[ Via NYT: White House Defends Medicare Law Despite Higher Price Tag ]
"Conservative Republicans have said that the new $530 billion estimate confirmed their worst fears, while Democrats said it vindicated their view that the law gave far too much money to drug manufacturers and insurance companies. The bill passed narrowly in the House after Republican leaders gave assurances that the cost would not exceed $400 billion."
They're just figuring out that he's a fiscal/state's rights democrat hiding in a military/corporate republican body.
Posted by greg at January 30, 2004 04:59 PM | TrackBack