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MYTHBUSTER

GOP MYTH: The health reform law destroys jobs.

FACTS: Private Sector Job Growth Has Been Strong Since the Enactment of Health
Reform
• 1.1 Million Private Sector Jobs Have Been Created Since Enactment of Health Reform.
• 207,000 Jobs in the Health Care Industry Have Been Created Since Enactment of Health Reform.
• By Contrast, Under President Bush, 673,000 Private Sector Jobs Were Lost.
• The Economy Has Grown by An Average Annual Rate of 2.7% Since Enactment of Health Reform.
AP HEADLINE (1/18/11): “FACT CHECK: Shaky Health Care Job Loss Estimate”
Excerpts from the AP article:
“Republicans pushing to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul warn that
650,000 jobs will be lost if the law is allowed to stand [citing CBO]. But the widely cited
estimate by House GOP leaders is shaky. …
“The budget office, which referees the costs and consequences of legislation, never produced
the number. … What CBO actually said is that the impact of the health care law on supply
and demand for labor would be small. Most of it would come from people who no longer
have to work, or can downshift to less demanding employment, because insurance will be
available [under reform] outside the job.
“‘The legislation, on net, will reduce the amount of labor used in the economy by a small amount
– roughly half a percent – primarily by reducing the amount of labor that workers choose to
supply,’ budget office number crunchers said in a report last year. That’s not how it got
translated in the new report from Speaker John Boehner ….
“‘The Republican translation doesn’t track,’ said economist Paul Fronstein of the
nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute. ‘People voluntarily working less isn’t the
same as employers cutting jobs,’ he explained. For example, CBO said some people might
decide to retire earlier because it would be easier to get health care [under reform], instead
of waiting until they become eligible for Medicare at age 65. The law ‘reduced the amount of
labor supplied, but it’s not reducing the ability of people to find jobs, which is what the job-
killing slogan is intended to convey,’ said economist Paul Van de Water of the Center for Budget
and Policy Priorities.”
FACTCHECK.ORG (1/7/11): “A ‘Job-Killing’ Law? House Republicans Misrepresent the
Facts”

McCLATCHY HEADLINE (1/18/11): “Experts Doubt GOP Claim That Health Care
Law’s A ‘Job Killer’”

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