CBO Director Doug Elmendorf admitted that Obamacare will cost 800,000 jobs.
Rep. [John] Campbell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, we’ll — and Dr. Elmendorf — and we’ll continue this conversation right now. First on health care, before I get to — before I get to broader issues, you just mentioned that you believe — or that in your estimate, that the health care law would reduce the labor used in the economy by about 1/2 of 1 percent, given that, I believe you say, there’s 160 million full-time people working in ’20-’21. That means that, in your estimation, the health care law would reduce employment by 800,000 in ’20-’21. Is that correct?
Director Elmendorf: Yes. The way I would put it is that we do estimate, as you said, that…employment will be about 160 million by the end of the decade. Half a percent of that is 800,000.
Your assertion that health reform will “will cost 800,000 jobs” is a complete misrepresentation of what CBO and its Director, Doug Elmendorf, actually concluded. According to the CBO report, health reform will lower the costs of obtaining individual health insurance so much that some people who had previously taken jobs solely in order to obtain health insurance will choose not to work. If the lower cost of individual insurance means that a mother can stay home to look after her kids, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. And it certainly has nothing whatsoever to do with “costing 800,000 jobs”. You – like so many participants in the right wing echo chamber – have gotten this point 180 degrees wrong and have misinformed your readers about an important topic.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said..."According to the CBO report, health reform will lower the costs of obtaining individual health insurance so much that some people who had previously taken jobs solely in order to obtain health insurance will choose not to work. If the lower cost of individual insurance means that a mother can stay home to look after her kids, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing."
ReplyDeleteSince when is having a working mother quit her job and live solely on welfare a good thing? If you want to make the argument that many of these women are married, I will find that hard to believe. Most married women can get insurance through their husband on a family plan.