(06-06-2017 04:28 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-06-2017 04:22 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  So, it's a political entity. Depending on which party is in the WH. Get rid of it. If their work depend on others giving it information they're no better than weather forecasters who usually don't get anything right. They can do just as well with a weather rock.

No, depending on which party controls Congress--it's the CBO, remember. Although technically, I think anyone from either party can request a projection. What I'm not sure of is whether once a projection has been made, anyone can request the same projection be made with different assumptions.

But as long as it is fed partisan information, it is going to produce partisan results.

But the important thing to remember when there is a headline such as, "CBO Says Obamacare Will Reduce the Deficit," is that no, that's not what CBO said, because CBO is not capable of saying that.

So, in a roundabout way you reinforced what I said, that it's worthless.

(06-06-2017 04:54 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  

(06-06-2017 04:28 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-06-2017 04:22 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  So, it's a political entity. Depending on which party is in the WH. Get rid of it. If their work depend on others giving it information they're no better than weather forecasters who usually don't get anything right. They can do just as well with a weather rock.

No, depending on which party controls Congress--it's the CBO, remember. Although technically, I think anyone from either party can request a projection. What I'm not sure of is whether once a projection has been made, anyone can request the same projection be made with different assumptions.
But as long as it is fed partisan information, it is going to produce partisan results.
But the important thing to remember when there is a headline such as, "CBO Says Obamacare Will Reduce the Deficit," is that no, that's not what CBO said, because CBO is not capable of saying that.

So, in a roundabout way you reinforced what I said, that it's worthless.

Substantially, although I wouldn't say totally worthless. There's some value in knowing even a partisan number. And if they show their work, you can change some assumptions and see what happens.

(06-06-2017 04:10 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  But CBO is all subjective. That's the problem. That's why their projections are consistently so far off. They do a good job of what they do. It's just that what they do isn't structured to give us accurate answers.

Maybe do this. On each bill, have the D's give them a set of assumptions, and have the R's give them a set of assumptions. Tell them to calculate both, and over time we will figure out who has the more realistic assumptions.

As you said yourself, it's the assumptions within a proposal, provided to the CBO, that are subjective. What the CBO does is objective, by definition. It's just a calculator, for whatever is input.

I still don't see why you want it to be the CBO that is the entity that subjectively judges a legislative proposal.

Your idea, not invalid, but I don't think would work. The other side could just "sabotage" any proposal, in the court of public opinion, by providing a wildly antagonistic set of assumptions. Then say "whoa! look at that! we have to kill this!"

(06-06-2017 04:22 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  So, it's a political entity. Depending on which party is in the WH. Get rid of it. If their work depend on others giving it information they're no better than weather forecasters who usually don't get anything right. They can do just as well with a weather rock.

If you get rid of it, then congress will just go back to using the White House's budget office to calculate the costs/savings of a legislative proposal. Why shouldn't congress have their own budget office, independent of the White House?

If you get rid of it, then congress will just go back to using the White House's budget office to calculate the costs/savings of a legislative proposal. Why shouldn't congress have their own budget office, independent of the White House?
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Again, what for? So that the CBO will just echo what the WH or political party in office gives them as bias info?