Harry Reid Celebrates CBO Report of Job Loss Caused by Obamacare as ‘Free Agency’

February 5, 2014 By Jennifer Burke

Harry Reid praised the CBO’s findings that Obamacare will cause over 2.3 million people to lose their jobs by 2021. Speaking with reporters outside of a luncheon, Reid shared his ridiculous and convoluted attempt at a football analogy to celebrate the rise of unemployment in America.

“We have the CBO report, which rightfully says, that people shouldn’t have job lock. If they — we live in a country where there should be free agency. People can do what they want.  And what they’re saying here is — and the fact checkers have already done this — the Republicans talk about losing millions of jobs simply isn’t true. It allows people to get out of a job they’re locked into, because of — they have healthcare in their job.”
“So my caucus is right on track to understand this. The CBO report is far better for us than it’s not. Republicans should get away from repeal and start talking about some constructive ways to handle the issues that they’re concerned about.”

Reid undoubtedly attempted that analogy because this report was released just a few days after the completion of the Super Bowl. However, in the world of sports, the definition of free agency is a person who is able to act freely without being controlled by someone else.
However, people have always been able to do what they want. Sure, at times, some professions, such as the financial services industry or lawyers, sign contracts with their firms. But, even then, there is a way out of the contract should you choose an early exit.
But, this distorted narrative pushed by Reid to lead people to believe that everyone is ‘locked into jobs due to healthcare’ is simply a continuation of the twisted spin by the progressive Democrats to demonize the health insurance industry and corporations. It also continues their tendency to focus on ‘choice’ when it is convenient for them. But, what about the choice of those who don’t want to lose their jobs or don’t want to see their hours cut. Are they to see this negative impact on their lives due to an over-controlling government as a good thing simply because Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Obama say so?
In his statement to reporters, Reid says that people losing millions of jobs isn’t true. He attempts to lessen the severity of the CBO statement by saying that people won’t be ‘locked into their job’.
The exact CBO statement is as follows. (emphasis mine)

“CBO estimates that the ACA will reduce the total number of hours worked, on net, by about 1.5 to 2 percent during the period from 2017 to 2024, 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,” said the report. 
“The reduction in CBO’s projections of hours worked represents a decline in the number of full-time-equivalent workers of about 2.0 million in 2017, rising to about 2.5 million in 2024.”

Reid would like Americans to believe that those workers who choose to supply less labor are doing so happily and simply because they are relieved to no longer have ‘job lock’.
However, there are key words in this report that Reid conveniently, and not surprisingly, chooses to ignore. Those words are ‘given the new taxes’.
Harry Reid and his fellow Democrats, in continuing to spin the negative effects on the livelihood of Americans due to Obamacare are clearly demonstrating the ultimate in big government, elitist attitude – ‘Damn the facts. Ignore the reality. We know what is best for you.’
So desperate is the left to salvage and prop up Barack Obama’s signature legislation that millions of Americans losing their jobs, seeing hours cut, and pay reduced is spun as a good thing. But, this should come as no surprise. After all, the left spent months diminishing the negative impact of ObamaCare on those who were losing the policies that Barack Obama guaranteed they could keep by stating that it ‘only impacted 5% of Americans’. It’s bad enough that the experience of those losing their insurance, not by choice, was flippantly disregarded. It turns out, this number repeated ad nauseum was a lie.
Those millions of Americans who want to work, but are seeing their work hours cut or eliminated, will likely not be joining in the celebration of their loss with Harry Reid. Who would have thought we would see a day in America when the American dream was sold to the people by the government as working less and living more off the government dole. But, with a president hell-bent on fundamentally transforming America and a yes-man Congress readily allowing him to do so, even if his actions are unconstitutional, Americans shouldn’t be surprised that the Democrat Majority Leader in the Senate is reveling in their job loss. At this rate, America is headed further down the road of emulating the economic hardship and high unemployment of Greece. Is that the change that Americans were supposed to believe in?