Which of the following claims about President Obama’s Affordable Care Act do you believe? It will: (a) slow the growth of healthcare costs, (b) reduce unemployment, (c) encourage entrepreneurship, (d) lower the deficit, (e) boost demand for goods and services, or (f) all of the above.
Amazingly, the White House Council of Economic Advisors recently claimed Obamacare will do all these things and more, including making workers more productive, increasing hiring and fattening workers’ paychecks.
Based on what President Obama has said and done since the Affordable Care Act was enacted, the law will truly benefit some people—mainly his political buddies including big-labor unions that pushed the law and liberal candidates who are hoping to win elections to increase the president’s power on Capitol Hill.
Blatantly twisting the law, he is about to make small-business owners and others pay off his debt to labor unions by exempting them from a fee that every other American is required to pay. Unions were supposed to pay the fee, but were carved out in regulations.
But that’s only one obvious slap in the face to small business. Remember the president’s statement: “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.” Who can forget it? Well, now the administration has deceptively engineered yet another health law delay, one that will postpone the deadline for minimum essential health coverage requirements.
Like previous delays of the law, it’s a sham. It has virtually no chance of helping many whose existing health plans were cancelled and the president knows it. The decision on whether to continue policies ultimately lies with states and insurance companies. Most insurers have signaled that even if they get the authority from states to allow continued coverage under old plans, they’ve already developed totally new ones so backtracking will be too costly to consider.
This delay is nothing more than political cover to help the president’s friends win at the ballot box in November—many of whom are facing serious challenges in Red States. It will allow them to claim they’ve supported the delay in an effort to protect individuals who’ve lost their health plans, all the while knowing there was little chance of it happening.
Here is what small business has to look forward to: (a) higher taxes, (b) more costly health insurance, (c) additional regulation, (d) more aggressive labor union action, and (e) a bigger federal government bent on running your business.
If you aren’t outraged at this point, you should be. Call your senators and representatives in Congress today and demand an end to this political farce.
