Economist Stephen Moore joined Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan Proft to dissect the latest Washington standoff over health care subsidies, government spending, and what Moore calls “the great Obamacare fraud.” The two discussed how Democrats are fighting to make permanent what was supposed to be a temporary pandemic-era expansion of federal health insurance subsidies—while Republicans, fearing political backlash, appear ready to fold.
Proft opened the discussion by revisiting a decade-long debate over health care for illegal immigrants. Despite Democrats’ recent denials, he reminded listeners that nearly every major Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020—Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and others—openly supported providing taxpayer-funded health coverage to people in the country illegally. “They all raised their hands,” Proft said, calling out the party’s attempts to rewrite history.
The conversation then turned to the current fight over $350 billion in Obamacare subsidies—expanded through the 2021 American Rescue Plan and extended again under the Inflation Reduction Act. Those expansions were sold as temporary pandemic relief, yet Democrats now want to make them permanent. Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing for a “clean” continuing resolution without those provisions but, as Proft noted, “they’ll probably cave on it anyway.”
Moore said the situation reveals a larger truth about Washington: “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary entitlement.” He argued that Obamacare’s design was deceptive from the start. “The headline every American should understand is that Obamacare was a fraud,” Moore said. “They called it the Affordable Care Act, but health care costs have tripled since it passed.”
Moore and Proft took aim at the expanded subsidy eligibility that now includes households earning up to $500,000 a year. “Under the current bill, you can make a half a million dollars and get government subsidies for health care,” Moore said. “If you’re only making $400,000, you’re poor—let’s face it.” Proft quipped, “It’s time those billionaires pay their fair share for people only making $490 grand.”
Both agreed that Democrats have used the pandemic as an excuse to entrench new spending. “That big increase in Obamacare subsidies was for an emergency,” Moore said. “The emergency ended four or five years ago, and they still want to keep it.”
The conversation turned to the broader budget fight in Washington. Moore noted that despite the drama surrounding government shutdowns, the spending cuts in question are minuscule. “Out of $80 trillion the federal government will spend over the next ten years, we cut $1.5 trillion—that’s about 2%,” he said. “And they’re calling that draconian.” Proft added sarcastically, “I don’t want to live in a world where the federal government spends 2% less than last year.”
Moore also criticized the federal worker “shutdown theater,” calling it a “paid vacation” for nonessential employees. “They love it,” he said. “They’re out playing tennis and golf while the taxpayers foot the bill.” He said President Trump’s suggestion that not all furloughed workers deserve back pay has caused panic among entitled bureaucrats unaccustomed to financial accountability.
On the economic front, Moore praised Trump’s record on taxes and deregulation but said the former president’s tariffs have hurt global growth. “Most of what Trump has done has been absolutely fantastic for the economy,” Moore said, “but it’s clear the tariffs have taken a hit. We’d be growing faster without them.”
Proft and Moore ended on a lighter note about Trump’s ongoing trade battles with Canada and the EU. When Proft mentioned that the EU had raised steel tariffs to 50% in retaliation, Moore said the drama was predictable but temporary. Proft joked that Trump might finally achieve something Congress can’t—making English the official language, at least in Canada.
In closing, Moore summed up the irony of modern policymaking: “Since Obamacare passed 15 years ago, life expectancy has gone down, health care has gotten worse, and costs have gone up. That’s government for you—making everything worse and charging more for it.”
Proft added the final punchline: “That’s not just health care. That’s Illinois.”