Rapid Shuffle

Did they think nobody would notice?

   Creative accounting and rapid shuffling of numbers may work for a while in the corporate world and in casino operations, but when it comes to politics, government and federal budgets, more people are watching more closely, and are quicker to point out when things don't add up.
  The House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA), also known as Trumpcare, would reduce the federal budget deficit by $119 billion over ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but it would also leave 23 million people without health insurance over that same time period.
   The largest savings, the CBO report said, would come from reductions in Medicaid outlays and from replacing subsidies for Obamacare programs with tax credits.
   From an estimated 14 million people losing health insurance next year, that number would rise to 19 million in 2020 and 23 million in 2026. The total number of uninsured people under age 65 would reach 51 million in 2026, the CBO said.
   Moreover, as premiums rise on individual policies, those without some form of government assistance to purchase health insurance would simply go without, according to the CBO analysis.
   Separately, the Federal Reserve Board released the minutes of its most recent Open Market Committee, in which members agreed to continue its close watch on national economic activity. A recent slowdown in the first quarter of the year appeared to be "transitory," but the overall growth picture seemed promising. Even so, the board will continue to monitor economic data before easing its monetary stimulus program.
   Combine that attitude with the president's budget proposal based on an economic growth rate of 3 percent or more.  Recent data have put the pace at almost 2 percent, and sometimes struggling to reach that mark.
   Or as some have put it, the president's budget proposal is wishful thinking run amok.