ACA Will Result In Workers Cutting Hours. The Unspoken Silver Lining

Alan: The "work" is not disappearing, the workers are. Most people who quit or cut back their hours will do so without suffering catastrophic outcome. The bottom line is that new jobs will be created for people who currently don't have them. I fail to see why this is a problem.

Health-care law will prompt over 2 million to quit jobs or cut hours, a CBO report says. "In its assessment of the law's impact on the job market, the agency had bad news for both political parties. In an implicit rebuke of GOP talking points, the CBO said that there was little evidence the health-care law is affecting employment and that businesses are not expected to significantly reduce head count or hours as a result of the law. But the report also contained a setback for the White House. The CBO predicts that the economy will have the equivalent of 2.3 million fewer full-time workers by 2021 as a result of the law -- nearly three times previous estimates. After obtaining coverage under the health-care law, some workers will choose to forgo employment, the report said, while others will voluntarily reduce their hours." Zachary A. Goldfarb and Amy Goldstein in The Washington Post.

Why the CBO report is good news. "The CBO projects that the act will reduce the supply of labor, not the availability of jobs...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."" Michael Hiltzik in The Los Angeles Times.

BARRO: How the debate over this report works. "There's been a sort of annoying conversation about the report today, with conservatives saying "see? Obamacare kills jobs," and liberals insisting the reduction in labor supply is a good thing, because it reflects people choosing to work less once they're no longer tied to their jobs for health insurance. The truth is more complicated: The law will reduce work hours through several mechanisms, some of which are desirable and some of which aren't." Josh Barro in Business Insider.

COHN: Who is cutting their hours? "More important, CBO says, most of the people working fewer hours will be choosing to do so. And that's a very different story from the one Obamacare critics are telling. Some of the people cutting back hours will be working parents who decide they can afford to put in a little less time with their co-workers and a little more time with their kids. Some will be early sixty-somethings who will retire before they reach 65, rather than clinging to low-paying jobs just to get health benefits." Jonathan Cohn in The New Republic.