Michael Hiltzik Continues His Absurd Shilling for ObamaCare
Michael Hiltzik is the key ObamaCare shill at the L.A. Times, and he continues to carry their water by talking about how totally awesome it is that ObamaCare will cost 2.5 million jobs over the next ten years, because, you know, CHOICE!!!!
The CBO projects that [ObamaCare] will reduce the supply of labor, not the availability of jobs. There’s a big difference. In fact, it suggests that aggregate demand for labor (that is, the number of jobs) will increase, not decrease; but that many workers or would-be workers will be prompted by the ACA to leave the labor force, many of them voluntarily.
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 next thing you know, he’ll be saying it’s awesome that the Web site didn’t work well, because of all the subsidy money we saved.
Wait, what? He actually did say that??
[T]he problems of the healthcare.gov website reduced enrollments, cutting the government’s bill for premium subsidies.
Woo-hoo!
In twenty years, I guess the argument will be that the severe deterioration of our health care system has contributed to the early deaths of millions of Americans, thus cutting down significantly on overall health care costs.
Why, there’s simply no end to the benefits of this wonderful law, comrades!
It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!
orcadrvr (2977be) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:52 amRegular commenters here know Hiltzik for the low-brow, two-faced, belly crawlin’ jackass he’s proved himself to be. Management at the LA Times protected his job after he got caught using multiple sock puppets to sing his praises. Patterico outed him.
Hiltzik isn’t a journalist by any honest definition, he plays the house organ for Obama’s West Coast Hallelugah Choir.
ropelight (eb4a46) — 2/10/2014 @ 9:05 amThis sudden leftist praise of non-work generating freedom to become a poet puts me to mind of something once said by John Gardner:
So we now have the Democrats praising the fact that any plumber who does notenjoying standing knee-deep in sewage can abandon his trade to become a poet, artist or philosopher because it is more fulfilling ot their soul. Neither their pipes nor their theories hold water!
Anthony Benvin (105f3f) — 2/10/2014 @ 9:14 amLOL!
Wow. Baghdad Bob just called to complain he might be laying it on a little thick.
They just completely contradicted the ‘stimulus’ argument they have used to justify ridiculous government spending.
Dustin (303dca) — 2/10/2014 @ 9:21 amI can think of no better benefit than Hiltzik losing his job. No doubt, though, he’d probably end up on the taxpayer dime spewing his idiocy to college students at some Cal State.
MikeHs (1a2353) — 2/10/2014 @ 9:39 amWhy not challenge him to drop his current medical coverage provided by the L.A Times and replace it with ObamaCare coverage. If he won’t then he needs to explain why. My guess he would reject the opportunity to join the fabulous ObamaCare program. After all it is for the little people not members of the MSM
Airedale (24109c) — 2/10/2014 @ 9:40 amHiltzik is a complete ideological tool. I’ve not been able to get past the second paragraph of most of his columns. Reading an entire Hiltzik column is nasty job–stupidity is contagious–but I’m glad someone has the stones to do it and report on it.
Skeptical Voter (12e67d) — 2/10/2014 @ 10:03 amThis Congressional Act is just full of benefits for people that didn’t bother reading it. It will increase State revenue by seizing assets of people forced into Medicaid, It’ll reduce world population by increasing sterility in the population (So that only “the right kind” of people breed), and it’ll help transition jobs from old people to young people through early retirements (there is no downside to this because receiving government subsidies is actually just free money*).
* Free money is defined as money that is freely printed.
DejectedHead (a094a6) — 2/10/2014 @ 11:32 amThe esteemed Mr Hiltzik wrote:
Uhhh, wasn’t Mr Hiltzik supposed to have been the business columnist for the Times? Isn’t he s’posed to have at least a rudimentary knowledge of economics and business?
Now, if the supply of labor contracts, because workers will want to work fewer hours — a concession, though they don’t realize it, that what conservatives have said about extending unemployment compensation keeps people from looking for work is correct — but the demand for labor does not, then the claim is that Obumblecare will actually create new jobs, and raise wages (as the demand for labor runs up against reduced supply). Yet, astonishingly enough, none of the left are even attempting to make this point.
Why? Because they know that it’s not true, and those on the left with even a trace of self-respect don’t want to be that obviously wrong.
The economist Dana (3e4784) — 2/10/2014 @ 11:55 amYou can’t teach this level of Stupid. God help us.
Colonel Haiku (4a0ebc) — 2/10/2014 @ 12:03 pmAnd if you’re not working and have no money, you can’t eat much!! So that solves the obesity problem.
Patricia (be0117) — 2/10/2014 @ 12:08 pmWhere do I sign up to vomit?
Is there a line?
Steve57 (71fc09) — 2/10/2014 @ 12:47 pmDoes something written by Hiltzik require careful, point-by-point consideration, or can I just proceed to the puking?
Steve57 (71fc09) — 2/10/2014 @ 12:54 pmAt times like these, I take solace in the fact that there might not be an Internet Patterico without the LA Times and its employees like Michael Hiltzik.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 2/10/2014 @ 12:57 pmYears ago, while responsible for an Air Force computer network, a subordinate crashed our primary router resulting in complete network failure. I told him not to worry and that I would record it in his annual Enlisted Performance Report as “reducing network congestion by 100%.” It’s all how you report it.
Lorem Ipsum (1c5f70) — 2/10/2014 @ 1:01 pmThat’s deep.
Steve57 (71fc09) — 2/10/2014 @ 1:13 pmComment by The economist Dana (3e4784) — 2/10/2014 @ 11:55 am
if the supply of labor contracts….but the demand for labor does not, then the claim is that Obumblecare will actually create new jobs, and raise wages (as the demand for labor runs up against reduced supply).
No such thing will happen. When the supply of labor contracts, so does the demand for labor, and vice versa.
They are always in balance (they can never get very much out of balance.)
Unemployment reflects either the length of time it takes to get a job, or structural unemployment, in which nobody wants to hire certain people, or there is extensive discrimination against them.
You cannot “save” jobs, and people filling jobs will not reduce vacancies.
Sammy Finkelman (c08134) — 2/10/2014 @ 1:14 pm‘people filling jobs will not reduce vacancies’ and people leaving jobs does not create net vacancies.
That works in practice, but as one Marxist said to the other, “can it work in theory?”
The CBO is still confused. and they are assuming people will drop jobs because the Obamacare policies are good and affordable.
Sammy Finkelman (c08134) — 2/10/2014 @ 1:19 pmI think highly of you. This doesn’t change things?
Steve57 (71fc09) — 2/10/2014 @ 1:28 pmThis isn’t rocket science. Two liberal arts degrees from loopy Northeastern universities do not amount to a real education. Being a journalist is not actual experience. Writing for the L.A. Times is tantamount to swimming in a punch bowl of feces and calling it fun. Hiltzik is exactly who his resume says he would be: A self-parody of a liberal Democrat waste case. Dog bites man.
Lawrence Westlake (4fc30a) — 2/10/2014 @ 1:43 pmBefore Little Mikie Hiltzik got busted for his silly sock puppetry, he had been busted by the Times for hacking into his colleagues’ private email accounts when he was working at the Times’ Moscow bureau.
Hugh Hewitt’s radio interview take-downs of Hiltzik throughout the years are epic to listen to.
Elephant Stone (9d30f3) — 2/10/2014 @ 2:55 pm“The CBO is still confused.”
Sammy – It’s over their head or they just don’t understand or it could be a little of both or maybe neither. Just throw something out there for sh_ts and giggles.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 2/10/2014 @ 2:58 pmNimitz is Zumwalt spelled backwards.
And with different letters.
Just thought I’d point that out for Mr. feets.
Steve57 (71fc09) — 2/10/2014 @ 3:05 pmIn case he didn’t pick up on the Nimitz-Zumwalt vortex.
Steve57 (71fc09) — 2/10/2014 @ 3:08 pmIf you quit a job (or work less) that paid for your healthcare, then you either have to enroll in medicaid or buy a bronze plan, and neither is any incentive to quit your job. Seniors on medicare were home free (as far I know) before ACA.
It boggles the mind that ACA supporters believe a large number of workers will just walk away from their job in THIS economy. The older folks are postponing retirement or using their retirement savings to pay bills and such. If you’re working ONLY to receive healthcare, then you’re situation isn’t typical for most Americans.
lee (b2dfc0) — 2/10/2014 @ 3:23 pmThe anti-jobs party is on the defensive.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 2/10/2014 @ 3:33 pmAnother push out of teh Employer Mandate! TFG is just making it up as he stumblebums along.
Colonel Haiku (4a0ebc) — 2/10/2014 @ 3:34 pmThe above is a very odd description of the labor market written by somebody who has obviously never witnessed labor demand/supply imbalances which occur with some frequency in many sectors of our economy.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 2/10/2014 @ 3:40 pmSammy… read some Milton Friedman!
Colonel Haiku (4a0ebc) — 2/10/2014 @ 4:02 pmindoctrinating the next round of drones,
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/02/unreal-anti-capitalist-lego-movie-makes-president-business-its-chief-villain-video/#disqus_thread
narciso (3fec35) — 2/10/2014 @ 4:03 pmHiltzik continues to plumb the depths of the unbelievably numb.
Colonel Haiku (4a0ebc) — 2/10/2014 @ 4:04 pmWinning!
the idiocy at the local level is not that blatant on the West Coast, or is it;
http://twitchy.com/2014/02/10/chilling-nyc-mayor-bill-de-blasios-state-of-the-city-address-would-make-lenin-proud/
narciso (3fec35) — 2/10/2014 @ 4:19 pmThe Democrat shills spouting this “who needs work, anyway?” nonsense have LOST THEIR MINDS …
MOST Americans are not trust-fund babies, and MOST of us have monthly rent or mortgage payments — which means *MOST* of us hoi polloi need jobs. Like, NEEEED them. For the food-on-the-table, roof-over-our-heads necessities, not just “to keep employer-sponsored insurance”.
(WHERE do these barking idiots come from?)
A_Nonny_Mouse (57cacf) — 2/10/2014 @ 5:01 pmhey, these people are stupid enough to deify the known mass murderer Ché Guevara, don’t put anything past them.
Colonel Haiku (4a0ebc) — 2/10/2014 @ 5:15 pmShilling? Pah, he’s barely worth thruppence.
Milhouse (b95258) — 2/10/2014 @ 5:17 pmObama has now postponed the business mandate for another year. They must really be worried about the midterm, and the chances of Obamacare.com working any time soon.
Kevin M (dbcba4) — 2/10/2014 @ 5:25 pmoh, yes… yes, they are.
Colonel Haiku (4a0ebc) — 2/10/2014 @ 5:26 pmIt shouldn’t take too much insight to ask if ObamaCare is so good, why do they keep delaying it.
But then again, apparently people complained that Katy Perry “changed the lyrics” to the song “Yesterday” by changing from “I’m not half the man I used to be” to “I’m not half the girl I used to be”.
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 2/10/2014 @ 5:58 pmSuch a complaint doesn’t show much insight. Do some really think it would have been better for Perry to sing she was “not half the man she used to be”?
Gee, that would start some discussion.
We – America – have been brought low by the Democrat Party. There is no destructive behavior they won’t embrace. There is no amount of lawlessness that they’ll draw the line at. And that includes every “leader” they get their marching orders from.
Colonel Haiku (4a0ebc) — 2/10/2014 @ 6:18 pm‘It’s just like a box of chocolates, with a spring surprise,
narciso (3fec35) — 2/10/2014 @ 6:19 pmVia Zero Hedge:
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:08 pmYou really cannot make this sh#t up:
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/02/10/House-GOP-Leaders-Tie-Restoring-Veterans-Pensions-to-Debt-Ceiling-Increase
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:18 pm33. I’m pretty certain the Ministry of Truth replied when given their latest marching orders:
“You have to be sh#tting us. This is all you’ve got? You want us to sell this?!
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:22 pmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_For_You
SarahW (267b14) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:36 pmTotals of US citizens abroad renouncing their citizenship up 221% in 2013 over 2012.
Its only the poor banging on the door to get in.
“Where’s all my free stuff?”
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:36 pmPretty sure SB was in on it.
SarahW (267b14) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:36 pmshoot, wrong thread.
SarahW (267b14) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:37 pm36. Comment by Kevin M (dbcba4) — 2/10/2014 @ 5:25 pm
Obama has now postponed the business mandate for another year.
There were news reports over the weekend – apparently quite serious – that the Administration was considering allowing the individual policies which had een allowed to be renewed for one more year in 2013, to be extended fror another 3 years.
Making sure nobody gets any cancellation notices before the 2016 Presidential election.
Sammy Finkelman (c08134) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:45 pmAlso, “Businesses would also be barred from cutting their workers in order to fall under the [100 worker] threshold.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/healthcare/197974-administration-delays-obamacare-mandate-for-small-businesses
Kevin M (dbcba4) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:53 pmIt shouldn’t take too much insight to ask if ObamaCare is so good, why do they keep delaying it.
Better question: they keep pushing back past the next election; what else are they hiding?
Kevin M (dbcba4) — 2/10/2014 @ 7:54 pmThe suspension of the employer mandate today has caused thousands to be trapped in “job lock” instead of pursuing their dreams as barristers at Dumb Starbucks. Free the “Wage Slaves !”
Mike K (cd7278) — 2/10/2014 @ 8:10 pmThis should make it easier to repeal if there was the will to do it. Each delay means there will be less to undo and less disruption in the medical marketplace. C’mon R’s!!!! Letting these D criminals continue to slide money to their cronies and bundlers for 3 more years for nothing in return is bad bad bad.
elissa (8927cd) — 2/10/2014 @ 8:11 pmThe Obama admin needs to s#it or get off the pot with respect to Obamacare. Three more years?? America may be stupid but not that stupid I don’t think.
elissa (8927cd) — 2/10/2014 @ 8:16 pmhate to destroy your last illusion, but yes we are that stupid, and then some.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 2/10/2014 @ 9:15 pmYeah, getting over that last hurdle was tough for me, too.
Steve57 (71fc09) — 2/10/2014 @ 11:57 pmHillary! has a realistic shot in 2016.
Mull that one over.
Steve57 (71fc09) — 2/10/2014 @ 11:59 pm52-lol thinking that team r has the nuts to fight the man.
mg (31009b) — 2/11/2014 @ 3:13 amshe kind of warnedus;
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/02/10/Video-Duck-Dynasty-Patriarch-Leads-Roster-of-Prominent-Figures-Wishing-Sarah-Palin-Happy-Happy-Happy-50th-Birthday
narciso (3fec35) — 2/11/2014 @ 4:15 amElisa – why would you think we are not that stupid?
JD (b4e6c6) — 2/11/2014 @ 6:34 amMr Finkelman needs to go back to school:
Your statement is true only if there is full employment; as long as there are unemployed people out there — not just the officially unemployed, but the currently discouraged “workers” — the supply of labor can expand to meet the demand. The sticking point is the wage.
The economist Dana (3e4784) — 2/11/2014 @ 6:45 amHilzik is a rotten nazgul who should be pelted with rotten fruit
http://ricochet.com/main-feed/Obamacare-Killed-My-Sister
so say we all.
narciso (3fec35) — 2/11/2014 @ 6:48 am==Elisa – why would you think we are not that stupid?
Comment by JD (b4e6c6) — 2/11/2014 @ 6:34 am==
JD- Here’s why I think that: from day one (even before ACA was rammed through and even going back to the Hillary healthcare debacle) the American public generally has been cautious, reticent and quite cynical about “government healthcare reform”. The polls have been pretty consistent about this and the website fiasco and other recent events that have affected people personally have fortified the public’s distrust. The administration’s lies and the full throated cheerleading by the media have not changed this. I think the public mostly gets it but they can’t fix this by themselves. They need congressional help to get rid of Obamacare.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/02/10/more-obamacare-delays-wont-save-dems/
elissa (b0f819) — 2/11/2014 @ 9:57 am61. The actual original link (on Ann Coulter’s web site)
GUEST COLUMN: OBAMACARE KILLED MY SISTER by Doug Graham
He’s right.
This illustrates the importance of unscheduled doctor visits.
She had, it turned out, a badly blocked gall bladder that had become highly infected. Her body went into septic shock just two days before the new policy kicked in. Obamacare and its website caused a one month gap in health care coverage.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 2/11/2014 @ 10:04 amIf she lived in Maryland, it might have been the state web site.
But Obamacare did cause a gap in coverage, and his sister made a fatal mistake.
You can also blame high charges to uninsured people, and un-transparent pricing.
It is even possible she might have gotten emergency care paid for.
And then she anyway went to the emergency room before her new policy kicked in .
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 2/11/2014 @ 10:10 amHer heart stopped beating because some of what they do to help the kidneys, hurts the heart.
Another hospital might have done better, at least monitoring her more.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 2/11/2014 @ 10:12 amWhat you get with single payer:
Ultimatum: ‘Give us Insurance or We’ll Abandon the Hospital’ Ultimatum to be presented to the government at 10 a.m. Tuesday over malpractice cancellation at Hadassah hospital.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 2/11/2014 @ 10:18 am“What you get with single payer”
Sammy – What does that have to do the U.S. and medical malpractice insurance in the U.S.?
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 2/11/2014 @ 10:40 amJust reading these comments is cathartic. I have to pretend I’m reading The Onion for Hiltzik articles in the Times.
StephenB (4d37c1) — 2/11/2014 @ 1:07 pm