Why the new CBO report on Obamacare is good news

[TomCADem]

In a nutshell, the ACA reduces the number of FT employed the same way social security reduces the number of employed, people who want to work less can, since they no longer need to work full time to qualify for health benefits. The articles discussion of the false right wing talking point about bailouts is also instructive.

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-cbo-20140204,0,3106578.story#axzz2sQBLN3R3

The Congressional Budget Office is out with its latest report on the Affordable Care Act, and here are a few bottom lines:

— The ACA is cheaper than it expected.

— It will "markedly increase" the number of Americans with health insurance.

— The risk-adjustment provisions, which Congressional Republicans want to overturn as a "bailout" of the insurance industry, will actually turn a profit to the U.S. Treasury.

Given all this, why are the first news headlines on the CBO report depicting it as calling Obamacare a job killer?

You can chalk up some of that to the crudity of headline-writing, and some to basic innumeracy in the press. But it's important to examine what the CBO actually says about the ACA's impact on the labor market. The CBO projects that the act will reduce the supply of labor, not the availability of jobs. There's a big difference. In fact, it suggests that aggregate demand for labor (that is, the number of jobs) will increase, not decrease; but that many workers or would-be workers will be prompted by the ACA to leave the labor force, many of them voluntarily.

As economist Dean Baker points out, this is, in fact, a beneficial effect of the law, and a sign that it will achieve an important goal. It helps "older workers with serious health conditions who are working now because this is the only way to get health insurance. And (one for the family-values crowd) many young mothers who return to work earlier than they would like because they need health insurance. This is a huge plus."

[doc03]

1. That is certainly not the way it is being reported in the media

and I don't mean just Fox. So therefore I don't see how you could possibly
say there is any good news outside of maybe DU..

[TomCADem]

2. When a news outlet is slightly harsh to the right, they apologize...

...but if the media spews outright falsehoods regarding Democrats, then pointing out such errors is just evidence of liberal bias.

[Kablooie]

8. That may mean it actually opens up jobs to unemployed workers.

It will decrease the unemployment rate.

The right is already talking about how this will hurt Democrats inj the fall.

[quadrature]

3. attn : young people ... bend over

here it comes again

[SunSeeker]

5. What are you talking about? nt

[SunSeeker]

4. Thank you! I saw headlines saying CBO finds ACA costs "millions" of jobs.

I knew it had be bullshit.

BTW, there is no ACA article when you click on the link. Probably LATimes changed where the article is now. Can you get me a current link?

[progree]

6. The link in the OP works for me just fine

showing the "Why the new CBO report on Obamacare is good news" story

[SunSeeker]

7. Maybe because I'm on my cell but another headline came up.

http://touch.latimes.com/?touch=921#section/609/article/p2p-79170600/

It is still on the same subject though.