![Joe Biden Joe Biden](imgs/2020-avatar-120-biden.jpg)
Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders Says Medicare for All Would Provide "Quality Care" During Pandemic [View all]BidenBacker
(1,089 posts)I just don't trust any political campaign to come up with honest estimates as to how much this or that program they're pushing might cost or where the money will come from to pay for it. Left-wing and right-wing and everything-in-between think tanks usually do a much better job but sometimes they too have ulterior motives and their results can at times be greatly biased depending on their political persuasion.
Whenever a candidate proposes any major policy that will cost megabucks, I would like to see them work out at least a semi-detailed plan and submit it to the guys and gals over at the GAO and/or CBO for formal scoring. Those folks are non-partisan straight-shooters who can usually be relied on to come up with the best estimates possible. If a proposed plan then comes back to a campaign marked "Totally Unrealistic Bullshit" then they can go back to the drawing board and either downgrade their goals or find more revenue. Once the GAO/CBO returns a "Numbers Balance" approval then they can go ahead and post it online so that everybody can look it over and decide for themselves if that policy is something they could get behind or is too prohibitively expensive.
At least that way a person could see that M4A might cost his family $10,000 a year or slowing climate change would require them to shell out 4 grand every year or whatever. Then each person can decide for him or herself if the cost is something they are willing to endure or might instead cause them too much financial hardship and they can then vote accordingly.
Democracy works best when the public is fully informed and folks vote for or against a person or a policy with their eyes wide open.
![](imgs/2020-avatar-120-biden.jpg)
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
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