Remember the urgency, the pressure congress was under, to pass the health care act before the sky fell. It was so desperately urgent that it had to be passed in the middle of the night. This bill was so urgent because of the supposed 40 million uninsured Americans (many by choice) needed to be covered! With one simple caveat: those in need would have to wait four years for benefits (yet to be seen) to kick in.
Well, if you’re a small business owner, it gets worse. And that is why business owners are not hiring. Hiring, to a business owner, means mounting expense in an uncertain economy. So who gets screwed in the end?
YOU!
As it’s one of the hardest pieces of legislation to comprehend, our healthcare bill, I’m going to let Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council better explain why businesses smartly are holding back from hiring.
As he laid it out in an article he contributed to The New York Enterprise Report, October 2010 issue, it goes like this:
“Starting in 2014, firms that meet the following conditions must pay a fee: They have more than 50 employees, they do not offer healthcare coverage, and at least one of their full-time employees is enrolled in a plan using a tax credit or other subsidy.”
“Businesses who meet these criteria will pay an annual penalty of $2,000 for each full-time employee over the first 30. The incentive for some businesses to keep their payroll below 50 employees or reduce the number of workers to fewer than 50 is clear.”
“Starting 2014, self-employed individuals are also required to obtain coverage or pay a penalty.”
With businesses pulling the reins in on hiring, you’re in the direct firing line. But then I also have compassion for business owners, entrepreneurs who take all the risks, often working long hires, putting up the capital, taking all the hits that go along with running a business. These days those “hits” are coming from congress as well.
And here’s the rub. Four fifths of our congressmen, according to HardfordBusiness.com, “lack an education grounded in business or economics despite the tough and complex fiscal policies they are being asked to debate.”
So as long as our politicians sit in their cushy jobs deciding what’s good for me and you, we’re all screwed.
To recovery … in spite of them!
The Renegade Financial Planner
