Difference Between Real News And “Spin” Brought To Light With CBO Report

One economic study, two news outlets, and two very different reports on its findings.

When the nonpartisan CBO released its Budget and Economic Outlook for the years 2014 to 2024 this week, right-wing media distorted its projection that the supply of labor would decline by about 2 million workers over the next three years, due to the ACA allowing workers the option to work less and still maintain health coverage. In the conservative echo chamber, pundits from Jennifer Rubin to Fox anchors argued that the CBO report proved the ACA is destroying jobs.

CNN's Carol Costello corrected the record about this conservative “spin” on the CBO report on February 5, explaining, “To be clear, the CBO did not say jobs would actually be lost. It said workers could choose to work fewer hours to meet Obamacare requirements for coverage,” and calling out the misinformation surrounding the report:

COSTELLO: [C]ritics say a new nonpartisan report proves the law will indeed kill jobs. But when you cut through the spin, this is all about workers' choices, not job cuts.  

As Costello was clarifying the CBO's findings, the very “spin” she highlighted was underway on Fox News. Anchor Bill Hemmer dismissed the notion that the CBO projection concerned workers' choice, arguing that it boiled down to “job losses” caused by the ACA. Frequent Fox guest Art Laffer added, “If you don't love your work, it doesn't mean you should be paid not to work so you can sit at home and dream. That's just silly.”

Fox has attacked health reform at every turn, pushing myths and phony scandals to argue for its repeal. The network's repeated misinformation on the CBO report in order to continue its war on the ACA, no matter what the facts, is just another example of Fox prioritizing politics over accurate reporting.