Some criticism that Repubs are going too far with the CBO study is justified. But media defenders of the ACA need to be equally skeptical of Dems spin about how the reduced hours will allow people to pursue other non-work interests and have more money in their pockets. What the CBO report makes clear is that the ACA will encourage mostly already poor people not to work or work less and be more dependent on government services for their livelihoods.. Specifically the report says “…the largest decline in labor supply will probably occur among lower-wage workers…” “Those subsidies are largest for people whose income is near the federal poverty guidlines…and they decline with rising income.”That is a far different profile than the image the Dems are pushing of a single mother now having the time to take an art class at her local community college, or spend more time with a child.
Should America be instituting systems that will enlarge the pool of people who have dropped out of the workforce?
Instead, I hope that the CBO report and politicians of all ilks are wrong about Americans and that the number of dropouts will not be as high as predicted. I believe that most people realize that there is more to a job than money. Most will not abuse the system and will work to escape the hold such an ill conceived web will have on them and their future.
We can do better.
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