The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released a stunner report saying Obamacare will discourage many from seeking full time work and reduce employment by 2.5 million jobs in ten years. Those unemployed or underemployed receive large Obamacare subsidies. If they become fully employed, those subsidies go away and they might actually lose money, says CBO.
The congressional actuaries go on to state that forgoing Obamacare subsidies and returning to full time work with health benefits (for lower wage and middle class workers) amounts to an average, implicit tax of about 15% paid by each worker. CBO does note that these considerations only affect a segment of the workforce – specifically the middle class and working class who earn annual incomes that put them below 400% of the Federal poverty level (about $95,000 for a family of four). But that represents a large portion of the labor market.
The White House beamed in from Arcturus with comically irrelevant comments in a losing attempt to slap down the report.
The law means people “will be empowered to make choices about their own lives and livelihoods”, said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
He said the law would also allow participants the freedom to retire early or become stay-at-home parents.
That’s exactly what the CBO said, just not in the same words. They essentially said that it will allow some people that are working now to not work or work less without fear of losing health coverage.
I know a couple just like this. One works contract work, with no benefits. He’s doing well but couldn’t find insurance at a reasonable cost on his own. His wife works in retail, and makes enough to pay for child care for their kid when she’s working, and pay for insurance premiums for the family through her job. She’s one of the 2.5 Million from this report. She gave notice that she wanted fewer daytime hours (or none at all if that wasn’t an option) when the policy kicked in.
They don’t get much in the way of a subsidy, but frankly it’s more than her employer was kicking in before. All said and done, it’s made it affordable enough that they can do OK on just his salary. Especially now that they’re not paying for child care.