Yesterday I tried to explain how Obama and the Democrats were scamming their way into making you believe that they healthcare plans could be deficit neutral. Looks like National Review has discovered yet another scam in the Baucus bill -- raid Social Security. Andrew Biggs explains:

But the CBO analysis actually leads to a very different conclusion: that in a classic "raid" on Social Security, Baucus's ostensible fiscal responsibility depends on raising Social Security taxes today to paper over new health spending, ignoring that those increased Social Security taxes imply higher benefit costs down the road.

CBO breaks down the Baucus plan's budgetary effects into those occurring "on budget" (where the substantive policy changes are) and those "off budget" (meaning through the Social Security program). The Baucus plan's on-budget provisions would reduce the ten-year budget deficit by a tiny $1 billion and in 2019 would increase borrowing by $6 billion. In the real world, where entitlement costs rise faster than projected and Congress fails to implement promised cuts to Medicare spending, the Baucus plan will doubtless generate significant deficits.

Meanwhile, the Baucus plan's fiscal skullduggery takes place off-budget. Social Security revenues would increase by $80 billion over ten years, with an $18 billon increase in 2019 alone. Around 3 million individuals would leave employer-sponsored health coverage -- which is exempt from taxes -- to purchase insurance through a subsidized "exchange." Leaving employer-sponsored coverage would raise workers' taxable wages and thereby boost Social Security revenues. Millions more would trade a portion of their insurance benefits for higher wages to avoid a new tax on high-cost policies. By skimming the new Social Security taxes, the Baucus plan appears to significantly cut the deficit when, in truth, it balances only by the skin of its teeth.

Now all of this is pretty complicated .. I know. This means that most Americans won't catch on to what the Democrats are pulling. Know this ... there has NEVER been a big entitlement program that did not cost AT LEAST twice as much as the political class said it would cost when they pawned it off on the American people. This is as it shall be with ObamaCare. It is going to bankrupt this country. These jerks in Washington don't care, though. They can always tax the rich, can't they?