A prediction by Congress‘ official scorekeeper that President Obama‘s health care law will discourage work has caused a huge stir in Washington, but the projection needs to be viewed as part of a broader challenge facing the United States in the coming decades.

On Feb. 4, the Congressional Budget Office released its budget and economic outlook update for the next decade, and Republicans immediately seized on a part of the report looking at Obamacare’s effects on the labor force.

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