A congressional report estimating that Obamcare will cost the nation's economy 2.3 million full-time workers by 2017 confirms that "policies that increase welfare benefits discourage people from working," political strategist Dick Morris said on Wednesday.
"Sounds very simple, but it's never been said before," Morris told John Bachman in an exclusive interview on "America's Forum" on Newsmax TV. "They said that if you offer people health insurance, subsidized, people are going to stay out of the workforce.
"They figure that they can get health insurance anyway and that employers are going to cut back on hours — and, therefore, the jobs will be so low that they won't enter," he added. "And don't forget, we've had 10 million people drop out of the workforce."
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On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office reported that, in part because smaller companies will be reducing worker hours to avoid offering health insurance to full-time workers, there will be the equivalent of 2 million fewer full-time workers in the American economy by 2017.
By 2021, there will be 2.3 million fewer full-time workers in the economy,
the report estimated.
"The goal of the Obama presidency is to increase the number of Americans who receive means-tested welfare, increase the number of Americans who don't pay income tax, and decrease the number of Americans in the workforce — because they can create a nation of dependents, of entitlement addicts," added Morris, who served in the Clinton White House. "They'll perpetually dominate the process."
The CBO report does not bode well for Democrats heading into this November's congressional elections, either.
"The key thing is to jettison this Obamacare bill and work on changing it and reforming it" Morris told Newsmax.
"Instead, the Democrats have dug in their heels on it.
"What's really happening is that the Democrats have decided that the way to keep seats is negative ads. Just character assassination.
"The essence of President [Bill] Clinton's approach to politics … is that you reposition on issues — and that's the way to win an election, not just by dumping negative ads on your opponents," Morris said.
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