Want to watch me make a trillion disappear?

I haven't written much this week not because of the usual press of school work, but because it was my turn to host Thanksgiving. It isn't a huge burden -- my only guests were Mom, Dad, Sis, and Niece. But I did have to figure out how to roast turkey meat (not a whole bird) and make dressing, then actually do it. There was also the company-level cleaning to be done. It was a pleasant meal and afternoon and I'm somewhat back to normal. So on to some of what caught my attention this week.

Last week I summarized an commented on an essay by Terrence Heath about the tradeoff between spending $4 billion on food stamps for the poor or $4 billion on lunch for the rich. Heath now tells us about another tradeoff.

The GOP want to cut $21 billion from the Medicaid expansion part of the Affordable Care Act (no doubt they want to cut funding for the whole thing, but one step at a time). The tradeoff this time is with the Pentagon. The GOP want to give $20 billion to our armed service to cover sequester cuts coming in January (wait, didn't we do that last January? They're back?). Heath sees two things wrong with this trade.

First, the Pentagon has an abysmal record in keeping track of money. There are estimates that there is a half trillion dollars in recent unaudited contracts. I take that to mean a half trillion dollars walked out the door and nobody knows whether the Pentagon actually got a half trillion worth of goods and services. And that's recent contracts. Since 1996 the total is $8.5 trillion that is not accounted for. Which means the Pentagon is in violation of the law because it could not pass an audit.

One guess into whose pockets that $8.5 trillion has disappeared. A very good reason for those with heavier pockets to not want an audit done. And a very good reason why the GOP want to loot more money destined for the poor and put it where it will line more pockets. There is the added bonus of being able to claim our wonderful soldiers (in harm's way) need the money.

Second, the Medicaid expansion is the bright spot in the ACA. It's the part actually working, a big success in getting health insurance to more people, especially poor people. Many people who try to sign up through the new exchanges find they are eligible for Medicaid. That's even true in Red states that didn't expand coverage.

Heath says the GOP hit a new low in their war against the poor. And they don't show signs of stopping.

Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, has called the ACA "unsalvageable." Yet, Kentucky -- McConnell's home state -- has been quite successful in signing up lots of people for health insurance. Then again, Kentucky is under a Democrat governor who set up a state exchange and took the money for Medicaid expansion.

House Speaker John Boehner tried to hold a publicity stunt. He was going to sign up for insurance under the ACA to show that it was impossible. The stunt failed because his enrollment succeeded. The success took an hour though -- because the representative for the DC exchange called Boehner's office to help and Boehner's staff put the guy on hold for so long he gave up after 35 minutes.

So if the ACA is succeeding in Kentucky, it will eventually succeed everywhere. And likely make a few Democrat converts along the way.