Money saved from ACA repeal will boost economy

The Bee article (Jan. 18) reports on a University of California blog calculating that repeal of the ACA potentially could cost the Valley 24,000 jobs. Your article omits any mention of whether the UC blog considered the job increases that would happen when taxpayers get to spend their money as they want.

Obamacare was deemed legal by the Supreme Court of the United States under Congress’s power to tax. And a tax it is, whether funds for it are through normal taxes, premiums under mandated coverage, or penalties for not having coverage. The state of California spends about $2,500 per state resident per year on Medi-Cal with more than 80 percent subsidized by the federal government. Both governments, however, get their money through taxes. We may complain that removing government spending decreases jobs or tout that new government-spending creates jobs, but we forget what the ultimate source of government money really is.

The tax money spent on Obamacare could be spent by taxpayers for their consumption or put into investments. Both would increase employment. It is this private-spending effect on employment that your article does not address.

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Money saved from ACA repeal will boost economy."