If you don't like your numbers, make up some

WSJ has an article about recent politicians' bending of numbers to suit their needs. Most important are the health care numbers that have been abused to generate the kind of budget that can hoodwink the public into believing this health care debacle won't totally destroy the US economy forever. (Hint: We are short doctors now; we are going to add 30 million more people onto the rolls. Could this possibly cause a leeeetle problem with LINES? Oh, and it'll be cheaper to add 30 million people too. Cuz we're going to get rid of the corruption in health care. Yeah, that's it. Government always gets rid of corruption. Just like in the article posted below in which the California government employees can run red lights with impunity and raise their pensions by 25% without telling or asking anyone. Yeah, that's right. We'll just close and lock the doors. Cuz no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.)

Even more blatant is the numbers game being used to justify health-insurance reform legislation, which claims to greatly expand coverage, decrease health-insurance costs, and reduce the deficit. That magic flows easily from counting 10 years of dubious Medicare "savings" and tax hikes, but only six years of spending; assuming large cuts in doctor reimbursements that later will be cancelled; and making the states (other than Sen. Ben Nelson's Nebraska) pay a big share of the cost by expanding Medicaid eligibility. The Medicare "savings" and payroll tax hikes are counted twice—first to help pay for expanded coverage, and then to claim to extend the life of Medicare.