Will Obamacare Hurt Jobs? It's Already Happening, Poll Finds

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Small business owners' fear of the effect of the new health-care reform law on their bottom line is prompting many to hold off on hiring and even to shed jobs in some cases, a recent poll found.

Forty-one percent of the businesses surveyed have frozen hiring because of the health-care law known as Obamacare. And almost one-fifth—19 percent— answered "yes" when asked if they had "reduced the number of employees you have in your business as a specific result of the Affordable Care Act."

The poll was taken by 603 owners whose businesses have under $20 million in annual sales.

Another 38 percent of the small business owners said they "have pulled back on their plans to grow their business" because of Obamacare.

Just 9 percent of the small employers surveyed agreed that Obamacare would be "good for your business," while another 39 percent saw "no impact."

The prevalent pessimism tracks other answers in the poll, which showed that 55 percent of small business owners believe that the ACA will lead to higher health-care costs. By contrast, about 5 percent said the law would lead to lower costs.

And more than half—52 percent—said they expected a reduction in the quality of health care under Obamacare, while just 13 percent expected an improvement.

In addition to restricting hiring or cutting jobs, small companies are considering other ways to mitigate the expected financial fallout. Twenty-four percent are weighing whether to drop insurance coverage, while 18 percent have "reduced the hours of employees to part-time" in anticipation of the ACA's effects, the poll found.

Gallup Chief Economic Dennis Jacobe said small business owners' answers in the poll "is consistent with owners' tendency to be more Republican than Democratic, higher-income, more against big government, more conservative and less optimistic than Americans overall."

One group that favors Obamacare for small businesses said the findings reflect misconceptions about its true effects as well as the need for continued outreach by reform advocates to the small business community.

"We need to do more educating about the law," said Rhett Buttle, vice president for external affairs for the Small Business Majority, an advocacy group that has run informational meetings for owners about Obamacare.

"We think small business owners stand to benefit under the ACA," Buttle said. "We think small business owners, as they learn more [about the ACA] ... will save money in the long run."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100825782?__source=xfinity

Edited June 23, 2013 by The Patriot

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Who knew?

The good news is that there will be many more part time jobs available at Walmart.

[RGinWA 816]

It should say "because of the fear of Obama care".

"We think small business owners stand to benefit under the ACA," Buttle said. "We think small business owners, as they learn more [about the ACA] ... will save money in the long run."

Edited June 23, 2013 by RGinWA

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

It should say "because of the fear of Obama care".

"We think small business owners stand to benefit under the ACA," Buttle said. "We think small business owners, as they learn more [about the ACA] ... will save money in the long run."

It does say that, but you have to read the first sentence of the post to catch it.

Stupid 'effin small business owners have no clue what is good for them, do they? Dumb@sses! We really should not even allow small business to survive in this country because they do nothing but cause trouble for the government that is here to help them, we should run them out of business entirely...oh wait, nm.

That IS what we are doing.

Edited June 23, 2013 by Gary and Alla

[RGinWA 816]

It does say that, but you have to read the first sentence of the post to catch it.

Stupid 'effin small business owners have no clue what is good for them, do they? Dumb@sses! We really should not even allow small business to survive in this country because they do nothing but cause trouble for the government that is here to help them, we should run them out of business entirely...oh wait, nm.

That IS what we are doing.

What's good for them and what's good for employees is two different things.

I'm sure many would like free labor, no breaks, 12 hour workdays, 7 days work for 5 days pay and dangerous working conditions, but those were remedied by US laws.

Just like workers employed without health insurance was remedied by US law...word to the business owners, get use to it and plan accordingly.

Edited June 23, 2013 by RGinWA

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Just like workers employed without health insurance was remedied by US law...word to the business owners, get use to it and plan accordingly.

We already have. We are not hiring at the moment, or anytime in the near future. American businesses have a crapload of cash to invest, but the Fed is undercutting us. So, while we would like to invest right here in the US, it won't happen until we get some certainty on exactly what the rules will be. As long as the rules change weekly, we will sit on the sidelines, or look elsewhere to invest.