Obamacare Is Bad for Small Businesses

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The latest paper to peer into the eerie fog outside its bedroom window and see Barack Obama’s undead health care program floating outside and tapping on the glass is the New York Times, which on Wednesday published a “case study” of wholesale bakery in San Diego called Baked In the Sun:

THE CHALLENGE: The company is one of thousands of small businesses that employ more than 50 full-time employees and thus will be required to offer health insurance to their workers — or pay into a government fund — beginning Jan. 1. Rachel Shein and Steve Pilarski, the married owners of the bakery, which employs 95 people, estimate this could cost their business up to $108,000, and they are weighing their options as the date approaches. “Our revenues are about $8 million, but the food business is a low-margin industry so cutting $108,000 out of our profits, which are just over $200,000, is a big deal,” said Ms. Shein, who is the chief executive. They are evaluating different ways to comply with the new law and finance the expense. ...

During the recession, the coffee shop business contracted so they found new customers among hotels and hospitals, but the cost of servicing different types of businesses and developing new products to meet their needs eroded profits. At the same time, gasoline and ingredient prices went up and vendors tightened payment terms. Still, the couple persevered by providing an array of freshly baked goods and offering product variety and consolidated delivery, simplifying things for their customers. ...

Later in the article, we learn that the owners of Baked In the Sun are still uncertain about how to deal with these costs, because so many delightful costs and regulations are yet to emerge from the pits of ObamaCare.  They aren’t entirely sure how much the mandated insurance would cost, or if it would be cheaper to pay the $130,000 penalty the Supreme Court says is not a tax (except when it is) and dump their employees into the public exchanges, saving themselves an estimated $10,000 in administrative costs.  Or maybe they’ll just cut and outsource 45 or 50 jobs to get themselves off the ObamaCare radar screen.

Putting the squeeze on a bakery? You ba------!


(thank you)