Commentary:
By Maria Cardona
Latinovations
Lately, much has been speculated about a recent report published by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and what the data means for the economy of the country. Many Republicans in Washington, without actually reading the report, have concluded that the data published by the CBO implies that the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, eliminates 2 million jobs over a period of 10 years.
First of all, you have to let the facts speak for themselves. Since Obamacare became law in 2010, the private sector has created over 8.1 million jobs. As long as you read the full report and not exclude important facts to play political games that benefit those who want to repeal the law, accusations that Obamacare hurts the workforce are contradictive to the data shown in the report.
The CBO data has no relation to the assumption that Obamacare will lead employers to eliminate jobs or reduce work hours. In fact, this same report says that there is “no evidence that part-time jobs have increased as a result of Obamacare.” This is something that Republicans should take note of, as it is an accusation that they love to use against the law that is giving millions of Latinos health coverage.
What the report does show is an immediate effect that Obamacare will “lead some employers to hire more workers or increase the hours of the workers they already have” during the 2014 to 2016 work period.
In the long term, the CBO shows that as a result of this law, people now have more control over their own lives, allowing them to retire with more flexibility; since many individuals will not stay in their jobs simply to provide health insurance for their families.
Furthermore, the CBO confirms that the analysis on the implications of Obamacare’s labor force is incomplete; it does not take into account the positive impact it has had on the cost of health care. Thanks to Obamacare, experts estimate that the slowing costs of the health care system will cause the economy to add an average of 250,000 to 400,000 additional jobs per year by the end of this decade.
In addition, the CBO does not take into account the positive impact it has had on productivity; thanks to Obamacare, the health of millions of workers across the country has improved tremendously.
Finally, this report confirms that Obamacare will reduce the national deficit. Since the enactment of the law, the CBO continues to project that Obamacare will reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion in the next two decades.
The truth is that Republicans misinterpreted the numbers and completely disregarded the real story that the CBO tries to tell. And if they thought the American public was not going to realize their true intentions, they were extremely mistaken.
Maria Cardona is a Democratic strategist and a Principal at the Dewey Square Group, where she founded Latinovations and shares insightful commentary on current events. She is also a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton, and former communications director to the Democratic National Committee.