Luddly Neddite
Diamond Member
- Sep 14, 2011
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The right is having a field day lying about the latest CBO report but, as usual, they're wrong.
The first attacks based on the CBO report on Obamacare and workers
What the CBO report on Obamacare actually says about jobs - CBS News
But, of course, the right will keep retelling the lie and that's all it takes for gullible rw's to swallow it whole.
The first attacks based on the CBO report on Obamacare and workers
The Thom Tillis ad, first highlighted by our colleague Greg Sargent, flashes this language when the voiceover asks, How many workers will have to lose their jobs? because of Hagans support for the health care law: Congressional Budget Office estimates 2 million lost jobs due to Obamacare.
But thats not what the report says. Dont take our word for it. Heres what CBO Director Douglas W. Elmendorf said in congressional testimony when he was asked about claims that jobs are being lost because of the law:
The reason that we dont use the term lost jobs is theres a critical difference between people who like to work and cant find a job or have a job that was lost for reasons beyond their control and people who choose not to work.
If somebody comes up to you and says, Well, the boss said Im being laid off because we dont have enough business to pay me, that person feels bad about that and we sympathize with them having lost their job.
If somebody comes to you and says, Ive decided to retire or Ive decided to stay home and spend more time with my family and Ive decided to spend more time doing my hobby, they dont feel bad about it, they feel good about it, and we dont sympathize. We say congratulations. And we dont say theyve lost their job because they have chosen to leave that job.
But in the meantime, costs jobs attacks are going to keep earning Three Pinocchios.
Three Pinocchios
What the CBO report on Obamacare actually says about jobs - CBS News
The part of the CBO's analysis that has drawn the most attention is the agency's revised forecasts concerning the ACA's impact on the labor market. Specifically one sentence: "The reduction in CBO's projections of hours worked represents a decline in the number of full-time-equivalent workers of about 2.0 million in 2017, rising to about 2.5 million in 2024."
Taken out of context, that sentence could be read to say the ACA will be responsible for a loss of 2.5 million jobs over the next decade. However, the report's previous paragraph states, "The ACA will reduce the total number of hours worked, on net, by about 1.5 percent to 2.0 percent during the period from 2017 to 2024, 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." So the phrase "a decline in the number of full-time-equivalent workers" is just a restatement of this in terms of how many full-time workers it is equal to
But, of course, the right will keep retelling the lie and that's all it takes for gullible rw's to swallow it whole.