[quote=spdrun]Interesting question: if people are no longer tied to a job to get health insurance, will this encourage more people who are unhappy with their jobs to drop out of the labor market, thus opening these jobs to people who need them more?

Some Conservatives are saying that “Obamacare discourages work” as if it were a bad thing, when in reality, it may be a balancing factor for the labor market.[/quote]

I mentioned this in the shutdown thread as well…I think this reality will be a benefit for a lot of people if people who hate their jobs move on and do something else freeing up their job for someone who truly loves it. It will be a positive realignment of the workforce. These could be “good” (higher paying) jobs as well such as Lawyers, Doctors, sales, tech, finance, etc…

Overall, decoupling work with health care is a net positive for businesses who should be focused on their business instead of wasting time debating what health benefits to offer. Unless we are willing to pull the plug on people and simply deny health care when people are dying, I feel you have to have something since all these people are already forced to use emergency rooms now. US is the only industrialized nation without some form of universal health care.

How we pay for it, I don’t know…I think related to this topic, I’ll probably be long dead before all the shit hits the fan, but if the majority eventually has it worst and worst, I can’t help but imagine that those don’t have will simply feel upset enough to use greater “force” (and I don’t mean occupy wall street peacefully) to take from the few who have plenty. It’s just human nature if things are bad enough.