Obamacare Allows People To Stop Working And Boosts Wages, Congress's Top Budget Expert Says

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http://www.alternet.org/economy/obamacare-allows-people-stop-working-and-boosts-wages-congresss-top-budget-expert-says




It would be perfectly understandable if you are confused about the latest news swirling around the Affordable Care Act.

In the past two days, a media firestorm has erupted over the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) updated budget forecast projecting that the Affordable Care Act will reduce the number of full-time workers by 2.3 million in 2021. Many outlets initially– and incorrectly–reported this figure as “job losses.” Today, CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf testified before the House Budget Committee and explained why those claiming the CBO report said ACA would kill jobs were wrong:

“The reason we don’t use the term ‘lost jobs’ is there is a critical difference between people who like to work and can’t find a job — or have a job that’s lost for reasons beyond their control — and people who choose not to work…If someone comes up to you and says, ‘The boss says I’m being laid off because we don’t have enough business to pay,’ any other person feels bad about that and we sympathize for them having lost their job. If someone says, ‘I decided to retire or stay home and spend more time with my family and spend more time doing my hobby,’ they don’t feel bad about it — they feel good about it. And we don’t sympathize. We say congratulations.”

Even House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) had a moment of clarity with Elmendorf on this issue:

Paul Ryan: “Just to understand, it is not that employers are laying people off.”

Doug Elmendorf: “That is right.”

[liberal N proud]

1. And the right wing and their "lubrul" media twisted the story

And they got the lie out there!