Republicans Block South Dakotans From Voting On Medicaid Expansion

[Igel]

24. Some is ideological.

Some is ill-will.

Some is simple distrust.

It's easy to cite projections. They're not real. They're projections. Same for promises.

Take the Medicare reduction that the CBO includes in its budget projection every year. It was supposed to have occurred a decade ago, as part of a budget deal--"You agree to this, I'll agree to that." But because it was unpopular to do so, the reduction is revoked every year. In other words, the law is overriden annually. The deal it was part of is forgotten, but the law and ignoring the law soldiers on.

Or take mandated special education funding. Every year Congress is supposed to fully fund certain mandated programs. It has never done so. In some years it's doing good to fund 50% of what is obligated itself to fund. In this case school dsitricts and states cough up the billions of dollars. Because they pay for the SpEd services that Congress required, they have less money for other things. In this case, it's easy expediency: If Congress actually paid that money out it would have bigger deficits or less money for things that more people care about.

The list goes on. Unfunded research promises, unfunded clean-ups, unfunded programs for this and that. All promises made, and all included in some projected funding and projected expenses.

This isn't an ACA issue. It's not a (D) versus (R) issue, by and large. It's a Congress issue.