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Fred Sanders

(23,946 posts)
Wed Feb 5, 2014, 12:21 PM Feb 2014

Los Angeles Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning Michael Hiltzik Shoots Down Republicans On CBO Report

"The CBO projects that the [Affordable Care] 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."

The ACA will reduce the total hours worked by about 1.5% to 2% in 2017 to 2024, the CBO forecasts, "almost entirely because workers will choose to supply less labor -- given the new taxes and other incentives they will face and the financial benefits some will receive." That translates into about 2.5 million full-time equivalents by 2024 -- not the number of workers, because some will reduce their number of hours worked rather than leaving the workforce entirely."

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And THIS major news about the "risk corridors" that Republicans were beating the drum about and snagging the attention of the Lazy Media with as "bailouts"....oh, no, it will actually lower premiums, so of course Republicans got ahead of the curve by lying about it.

"The new projections released Tuesday show the CBO now expects that the government will collect $16 billion from insurers who are running a profit but that it will only have to pay out $8 billion of that to the insurance companies that are essentially running at a loss, creating a net $8 billion in savings for the government. Previously the CBO projected that the program would break even.

If things play out as the CBO expects, it would mean that insurance companies are generally charging enough in premiums, and won’t have to raise rates in the future. “So it’s not only good news for 2014 but it seems to be a good sign for other years as well,” says Levitt."

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So the rest of the idiots in the Beltway Media should just swallow their false pride and admit they never read the report before leaping to conclusions, or they are unable to read and unable to admit that actual ECONOMISTS are better able to make the conclusions.

Not to mention that the reduction in the supply of labor is NOT a good thing for the job creators is it? The whole supply and demand thingy going on there not in their favor.

Idiot America, meet your Idiot Free Press.

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