November 17th, 2009, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned the proposed “public option,” calling it “a budget-breaker that will bankrupt America’s entitlements sooner rather than later.”
“According to CBO’s own numbers, the so-called ‘public option’ will begin operating at a loss in 2017,” said Wilson. “Every year after that, the program will spend more than it takes in by tens of billions, ultimately resulting in the federal government borrowing and printing money to pay for subsidizing health coverage.”
Wilson urged Senators on the fence to reconsider their support for the “public option.” “Senators need to consider the long-term costs of this program. It will have lost $109 billion by 2019, and by 2030, will lose more than $1 trillion.”
“Not even the Medicare spending cuts and confiscatory taxes will be able to keep up with the spending increases proposed. CBO has not properly measured this bill and its rating of ‘deficit-neutral’ through 2019 is nothing more than a head fake,” Wilson added.
According to Americans for Limited Government’s analysis of Congressional Budget Office data, the “public option” program loses $32 billion through 2017, $69 billion through 2018, and $109 billion through 2019:
“Senators have not been given the complete picture by CBO. The deficits inherent in the ‘public option’ will only grow by widening figures after 2019, almost doubling every year thereafter,” Wilson said, concluding, “This will result in an unsustainable burden for taxpayers that Senators would do well to consider before voting to essentially bankrupt the country.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
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