Dear Mark: The Obama administration's response to the CBO report that the equivalent of 2.5 million jobs will be lost because of Obamacare is a joke. President Obama's people are actually trying to convince us that this job loss is a good thing for Americans and proves once again how wonderful Obamacare is. Will they get away with this? — Can't Fool Me
Dear Can't: Liberal politicians have pulled themselves out of a lot of tailspins before, but this one might be a little tougher to explain away, as the CBO is generally regarded as nonpartisan.
The CBO report is devastating to Obamacare, so team Obama and his liberal minions are spinning faster than a figure skater at the Sochi Olympics. The premise the administration is trying to sell is that Obamacare is actually "empowering" American workers by giving them the freedom to choose to leave full-time jobs and move to part-time work with the help of government subsidies for health insurance.
Liberals are even trying to promote a new term called "job lock." According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's spokesman Adam Jentleson, "job lock is when people feel they have to stay in a job for the health benefits." Really, libs are trying to fool us with some new-fangled terminology?
The spin hits hyper speed when the presidential mouthpiece Jay Carney implies that this part of the Affordable Care Act was intentionally put in the legislation so people could pursue their dreams. The liberal thinking is that under Obamacare people are free to choose part-time work and take government subsidies paid for by other people in order to pursue their personal dreams. He failed to mention the people forced into part-time work because of the ACA. But why ruin the liberal dream?
Team Obama's spin is flawed on every level, but let's look at two. First: When 2.5 million full-time employees drop out of the workforce and take government subsidies, the U.S Treasury will take a big hit on tax revenue. Second: If a person goes from full-time to part-time just for subsidized health care, how will they pay the remainder of their bills such as rent, gas, food, etc.? Oh, that's right — more government subsidies.
Some pundits have pointed out that Obamacare redistributes wealth from the "makers to the takers." With Colorado and Washington legalizing pot, I see Obamacare sending money from the "earners to the burners."
Dear Mark: In his interview with FOX's Bill O'Reilly, President Obama tried to explain that today's liberalism is actually "sensible." The president was good at giving vague answers, but how in the world could he make that claim? — Sharon in Oklahoma
Dear Sharon: Simple, liberal sensibilities are far different from the sensibilities of mainstream Americans. For instance, we've been told by liberals how great Obamacare would be, yet this week the CBO reported that 30 million people will remain uninsured after Obamacare is fully implemented.
So after all this economic upheaval, we're left with the same number of uninsured we began with. That is like cutting off the end of a blanket, sewing it onto the other end and claiming that it's a larger blanket. That, my friend, is an example of sensible as defined by liberals.
Dear Mark: With Jay Leno leaving the Tonight Show, I saw that Bill Clinton was his favorite political target with Leno telling over 4,600 Clinton jokes. Isn't it funny that President Obama thinks he has it so tough? — Heeeere's Johnny
Dear Johnny: I'm not sure where you get your information because as far as I can tell Jay only told one Bill Clinton joke; the rest were true stories. Don't forget to tip your waitresses and bartenders.
E-mail your questions to marklevy92@aol.com. To find out more about Mark Levy, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com. Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkPLevy
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