Earlier today, the Congressional Budget Office released a report saying the Affordable Care Act will reduce employment by 2.5 million full time-equivalent workers as of 2024, almost entirely through effects on the labor supply side: That is, the law won't much change firms' interest in hiring, but it will make people want to work less.

Here's a key implication of that finding that most people are glossing over: Obamacare will drive wages up.

The price of labor, like any good or service, is determined by supply and demand. If producers of labor (workers) become less inclined to sell it, but consumers of labor (firms) are unchanged in their interest in buying, then the price of labor has to rise in order to bring the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded into line.