General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWill Obamacare Hurt Jobs? It's Already Happening, Poll Finds
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.
"We were startled because we know that employers were concerned about the Affordable Care Act and the effects it would have on their business, but we didn't realize the extent they were concerned, or that the businesses were being proactive to make sure the effects of the ACA actually were minimized," said attorney Steven Friedman of Littler Mendelson. His firm, which specializes in employment law, commissioned the Gallup poll.
"If the small businesses' fears are reasonable, then it could mean that the small business sector grows slower than what economic conditions otherwise would indicate. And small businesses have been a growth engine in the economy," Friedman told CNBC.
Forty-one percent of the businesses surveyed have frozen hiring because of the health-care law known as Obamacare. And almost one-fifth19 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.
full: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100825782
Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden) got a lot of flak for cutting workers' hours to evade the Obamacare full-time rule. This kind of story shouldn't be too surprising. But what can be done about such a survey?
graham4anything
(11,464 posts)Just Saying
(1,799 posts)Lame!
And I don't think people making millions are necessarily "small business." This just sounds like greed to me. Perhaps we should ask them why they care so little about their employees.
My husband owns a small small business that makes considerably less than $20 million and would be happy to offer insurance to his employees. In fact, we tried when we set up our family policy thru a business cooperative but because they are somewhat seasonal, they didn't meet the insurance company's requirements.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)The only thing useful to ever come out of CNBC, is, well, okay. Nothing useful has ever come out of CNBC.
I tried to think of something, and I just couldn't
dawg
(10,624 posts)Kudlow maybe?
He does the best Thurston Howell III I have ever seen. And he NEVER breaks character. Brilliant!
cheyanne
(733 posts)The economy has been especially hard on small businesses (see: Wall St. Profits). But as it becomes apparent that Obamacare works, more businesses will sign on, because peer pressure from other businesses to provide benefits.
Warpy
(111,339 posts)and insurance companies are jacking up their rates as far as they can before it kicks in next year.
Hospitals aren't hiring and smaller businesses are panicky about hiring adequate personnel.
There was a story out yesterday about the overall cost being far less than anticipated. It's just going to be a very uneasy transition period.
The ACA isn't costing jobs. Stupid managers who are panicking over it are costing jobs.
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)If it has anything to do with ACA.