Kudos to Ezra’s Blog
With all the talking heads out there defending the indefensible (see the previous post), let me stop to praise Dylan Matthews at the Ezra Klein blog for calling it straight. Here is a sample of his analysis of a Mitt Romney ad:
Obama is raiding $716 billion from Medicare – This one’s true. The most recent CBO analysis of the Affordable Care Act, released last month, estimated the 10-year Medicare cuts in the bill at $740 billion, so if anything the ad’s number is low.
Nice ad.
In an earlier post, Devon Herrick said Richard Foster was the only one in government willing to admit a $716 cut from Medicare was a problem for seniors. I would add to that short list: 2) the CBO, since it is at least willing to tally the numbers correctly rather than bury them under a heading such as “investment in Medicare’s long term security” or some other euphemism meant to obscure the truth.
I applaud the Romney Campaign for releasing another true ad, but I don’t see a way anyone can “protect and strengthen” Medicare without “changing the program forever.”
Matthews’ piece was one of the more senible things I have read on this subject.
I agree, Corey. The Romney plan is a start, but there will need to be some serious market reforms/privatization efforts in the future.
I haven’t been following these ads closely enough to know the issue, but I suspect that neither side is giving us the complete story.
Excellent ad! and an even more compelling analysis!