The GOP's rude awakening on health-care repeal

[FourScore]

The GOP's rude awakening on health-care repeal
By Eugene Robinson
Friday, January 21, 2011

SNIP

...A recent Associated Press poll found that 41 percent of those surveyed opposed the reform law and 40 percent supported it. But when asked what Congress should do, 43 percent said the law should be modified so that it does more to change the health-care system. Another 19 percent said it should be left as it is...A recent Washington Post poll found support for outright repeal at 18 percent...

SNIP

...The CBO, which "scores" the impact of proposed legislation, calculated that the health-reform law will reduce federal deficits by at least $143 billion through 2019. Confronted with the fact that repeal would deepen the nation's fiscal woes, Republicans simply claimed the CBO estimate to be rubbish. Who cares what the CBO says, anyway?

Er, um, Republicans care, at least when it's convenient. Delving into the CBO's analysis, they unearthed a finding that they proclaimed as definitive: The reform law would eliminate 650,000 jobs. Hence "Job-Killing" in the repeal bill's title.

One problem, though: The CBO analysis contains no such figure. It's an extrapolation of a rough estimate of an anticipated effect that no reasonable person would describe as "job-killing." What the budget office actually said is that there are people who would like to withdraw from the workforce - sometimes because of a chronic medical condition - but who feel compelled to continue working so they can keep their health insurance. Once the reforms take effect, these individuals will have new options. That's where the "lost" jobs supposedly come from...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/20/AR2011012003890.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

[FourScore]

1. Read the article.

I had to edit ALOT of good stuff.

[drm604]

2. Yes. People voluntarily dropping out of the workforce would be good for employment.

It will open up positions for the unemployed. The Republicans HAVE to know that they're stating it wrong. There is no way they could have misread it as killing jobs.

Deceitful assholes.

[rgbecker]

3. Republicans have been wanting time to read each bill before voting.

Seems that would be a waste of time as they apparently can't understand what they are reading anyway.