Bernie Sanders' Healthcare proposal is short $17,000,000,000,000

[Sparkly]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/09/the-17-trillion-problem-with-bernie-sanderss-health-care-plan-2/

Is this another Bernie Math problem? Or did the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center and the Urban Institute make a calculation error? Or did Max Ehrenfreund report something wrongly?

Sorry, Bernie fans. His health care plan is short $17,000,000,000,000.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed paying for his policies that transform large sectors of the government and the economy mainly through increased taxes on wealthy Americans. A pair of new studies published Monday suggests Sanders would not come up with enough money using this approach, and that the poor and the middle class would have to pay more than Sanders has projected in order to fund his ideas.

The studies, published jointly by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center and the Urban Institute in Washington, concludes that Sanders's plans are short a total of more than $18 trillion over a decade. His programs would cost the federal government about $33 trillion over that period, almost all of which would go toward Sanders's proposed system of national health insurance. Yet the Democratic presidential candidate has put forward just $15 trillion in new taxes, the authors concluded.

(snip)
Over time, though, the government would have to borrow money to fund the programs, potentially increasing interest rates with uncertain consequences for households and businesses.

The new estimate of the cost of Sanders's health-care plan is even more pessimistic than a previous estimate produced by Kenneth Thorpe, a former health official in the Clinton administration. Sanders's staff criticized Thorpe for predicting their plan would cost $25 trillion over a decade, about twice what they had projected. The Urban Institute puts the cost to the federal government at $32 trillion.

Something tells me Congress wouldn't pass this. Maybe it's just me.

[Gomez163]

1. Imagine the tax increase that would be necessary.

Imagine the attack ad in the GE

[bkkyosemite]

2. Bernie's campaign has already discounted this amount

[Sparkly]

4. I haven't seen that.

[fleur-de-lisa]

3. This tired shit again?

Why are Hillary fans so worried? She has this sown up, right?

[Sparkly]

5. Just trying to understand the standards.

[AzDar]

6. It's all they've got... look away from the FBI Investigation, GOP Donors and GE Polling Matchups

[Sparkly]

8. I'm looking.

FBI Investigation -- months and months, and as Elijah Cummings said, all they're doing is keeping scandalous sounding headlines and innuendo going. Nothing there.

GOP Donors -- I hope so, and GOP votes too!

GE Polling Matchups -- I wonder why they've done so much negative spin on HRC and barely anything on Sanders.... Kind of the way they did with John Edwards... (They want to run against Bernie.)

[Hiraeth]

10. Have you ever applied for a job while under investigation?

Does it even show up under a background check?

How did you handle it in the interview?

[Sparkly]

12. SHE is not "under investigation."

[Hiraeth]

15. yeah right, semantics. well played. and ignored all my questions about YOU.

[djean111]

7. Been disproved. Many times.

In any event - doesn't overcome my revulsion over Hillary's stances on war, H-1B visas, cluster bombs, the TPP, fracking, and means-testing Social Security instead of raising the cap. Nothing about Bernie or his proposals can make Hillary's past deeds and policy palatable. Henry Fucking Kissinger. No, I won't be supporting that.

[Sparkly]

9. No problem.

I can see you've thoroughly researched the "stances."

[djean111]

16. Why yes, I have.

Supported her in 2008. Have since done my due diligence.
Deeds count, not ever-changing to fit the audience words.

Whether or not you have a "problem" with that is totally irrelevant.

Third Way hawk. Nope.

[lagomorph777]

11. A million billion hunderd zillion jillion dollars!

And educating Americans will cost nearly a brazillion dollars!

Spare us the right-wing talking points. Hillarians are starting to sound seriously desperate and nonsense like this is really hurting your (already low) credibility.

[Sparkly]

13. I'm sorry, did the studies get something wrong?

[hellofromreddit]

14. Brocktacular

From my response in http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511929819
-----------

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027818987

Hey, at least it's a $trillion down from the last time this lie went around.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251595479
http://www.democraticunderground.com/128051549

[Sparkly]

18. If it's a lie, correct me.

I'm not going to chase your other posts around.