Obama Lied (overstated) Health Care "Savings" By A Masive $868 BILLION

In what the White House calls the final push for health care reform, President Obama pushed the envelope on deficit reduction and came crashing down to earth.

"Our cost-cutting measures mirror most of the proposals in the current Senate bill, which reduces most people's premiums and brings down our deficit by up to $1 trillion dollars over the next decade because we're spending our health care dollars more wisely," Mr. Obama told an audience at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa., a suburb north of Philadelphia.

The President was so proud of these cost-saving numbers in the latest version of health care reform, he delved into a bit of Washington-speak to back them up.

"Those aren't my numbers," President Obama said to the rising applause of the estimated 1,300 in attendance. "They are the savings determined by the Congressional Budget Office, which is the nonpartisan, independent referee of Congress for what things cost."

That part is true. The budget office does keep score of what things cost. More precisely, the budget office projects what things cost or save over a given period of time.

But the budget office did not say the Senate health care bill would save $1 trillion over the next decade. Not even close.

It estimated the bill would save $132 billion from 2010 to 2019, leaving President Obama's "next decade" estimate $868 billion short.

That's some rounding error.

When contacted, a White House official said the President  meant to say the Senate bill would save $1 trillion in its second decade.

The budget office did project possible second-decade savings of up to $1 trillion, but attached this note of caution: "A detailed year-by-year projection for years beyond 2019...would not be meaningful because the uncertainties involved are simply too great."

In his remarks today, President Obama made the case that all issues had been considered, all ideas vetted. It was time, he said, to take a stand.

"We have debated healthcare in Washington for more than a year," Mr. Obama said. "Every proposal has been put on the table. Every argument has been made. The need is great, the opportunity is here. Let's seize reform. It's within our grasp."

What is not in the President's grasp, or the taxpayer's for that matter, is the alluring prospect of $1 trillion in health care savings in the "next decade." But there is the hope, though it "would not be meaningful," of that magnitude of savings starting in the decade beginning in 2020.

By the way, the budget office projects a 2020 deficit of $1.3 trillion. A number like that would make $1 trillion in health care savings from 2020-2029 meaningful indeed.

Where Are Those Jobs You Democrats Promised??????Didn't Obama Lie About 8% or Lower Unemployment?????? I Know It's Still Bush's Fault And The Republican Minority Running The Country.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Dec. 30,2009, Nick Ayrom, from Glendale, Calif., a former high school teacher, looks for technology related jobs on a computer terminal at the Verdugo Job Center on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009. in Glendale, Calif. The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, a sign the job market is healing as the economy slowly recovers.(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of newly-laid off workers seeking jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, as the economy recovers at a slow and uneven pace.

Layoffs have slowed and the economy began to grow in last year's third quarter, but companies are reluctant to hire new workers. The unemployment rate is 10 percent and many economists expect it to increase in the coming months.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 482,000. Wall Street economists expected a small drop, according to Thomson Reuters.

The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, rose for the first time since August, to 448,250.

The weekly claims figure is volatile and it can take time for trends to emerge. A Labor Department analyst said that much of the increase last week was due to administrative backlogs leftover from the winter holidays in the state agencies that process the claims.

Claims have dropped steadily since last fall, as companies cut fewer jobs. That has caused some economists to hope that hiring may increase soon. Initial claims have dropped by 50,000, or almost 10 percent, since late October.

Still, the economy is not consistently generating net increases in jobs. The Labor Department said earlier this month that employers cut 85,000 jobs in December, after adding only 4,000 in November. November's increase was the first in nearly two years.

Many economists say the four week average of claims will need to fall to below 425,000 to signal that the economy is close to generating net job gains.

Meanwhile, the number of people continuing to claim regular benefits dropped slightly to just under 4.6 million. The continuing claims data lags initial claims by a week.

But the so-called continuing claims do not include millions of people who have used up the regular 26 weeks of benefits customarily provided by states and are now receiving extended benefits for up to 73 additional weeks, paid for by the federal government.

More than 5.9 million are receiving extended benefits in the week ending Jan. 2, the latest data available, an increase of more than 600,000 from the previous week. The data for emergency benefits lags initial claims by two weeks.

The increasing number of people claiming extended unemployment insurance indicates that even as layoffs are declining, hiring hasn't picked up. That leaves people out of work for longer and longer periods of time.

Among the states, California saw the largest increase in claims, with 16,160. Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Georgia saw the next largest increases. The state data lags the initial claims data by a week.

Oregon saw the biggest drop in claims, of 5,784, followed by Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan and Massachusetts.