Want to see small businesses hire more people? A court decision shooting down health care reform would go a long way.
That’s an educated guess from Barbara Quandt, who leads Indiana’s office of the National Federation of Independent Business.
Quandt quickly qualifies her statement by emphasizing small companies face other headwinds, including pricey gas. But the thing the main street crowd overwhelmingly fears is uncertainty associated with health care reform.
Problem is, she says, health care costs continue spiraling upward instead of downward, as was promised when the legislation passed. That throws a lot of water on hiring intentions.
“Small-business owners are just not optimistic right now,” she says.
An optimism index based on NFIB’s ongoing surveys shows the index in retreat after a brief comeback early this year. The index stood at 90.9 in May, a little higher than where it was last summer. That’s still better than the recession low point of 81 in March 2009.
Reform doesn’t necessarily need to go away to bring back optimism among some of the most optimistic among us, she says, but something—nearly anything—pointing to certainty would help.
What about you? Is she right?
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Does the uncertainty result from the law or fear mongering by the likes of the aforementioned?
I grow weary of this whining about uncertainty. When was the time entrepreneurs operated in a climate of certainty?
This is the most anti-business administration in history -- recent actions of the NLRB prove it. All the unions got their waivers already, so small buisness will bear the marginal cost of the millions of uninsured, whether here legally or otherwise.
Most of us don't want European socialism -- it doesn't work. Ask the Greeks or the French. Most of us know that health care reform of some type is necessary, but until there is a more pro-business administration in place, we will sit on our cash.
Green jobs? Hah! The battery operated car company just tanked. Wonder how much stimulus money went to its suppliers who won't get paid and thus also fail as a result.
Youth and enthusiasm have devestated business since the dawn of time. Having run my business in times of certainty I can assure you that the availability of captial and the acceptance of markets for products allowed consumers and business owners alike to prosper. Perhaps you were alive in the late 1980's-at that time the .gov was focused on growing our economy and as such tax's were lowered to offer all of us the opportunity to manage our own monies. At the same time the .gov focused on regulating business in a manner that was conducive to expansion and investment. If you were not alive at that time I can except your opinion as you have never experienced that security.
There is no certainty - ever.
As for availability of capital, You can blame Republicans for crashing the economy and theft of treasury to cronies and war profiteers.
As for regulation, I submit that we should drink sludge and breath poison.
As for youth and enthusiasm, ...Not much of that here.
I never cease to be baffled by Indiana business people being flimflammed by right wing falsehoods and propaganda.
I vote for a demand side economy. Customers could then possibly buy SmallBIZ products.
I'll be sure to include the giant spectrum of unanticipated costs into my mock business plan.
Do you want healthy employees?
Thanks for voting for and defending "demand side" economics, as a small business owner I am also baffled by those flim flammed by leftwing falsehoods such as "demand side". Feeling the change here my friend-feeling the change.
What you feel are the effects of dubya's great recession and like your compatriots, you are straining to blame the wrong guy.
...Demand side economics a left wing falsehood - Hmm? Capital follows demand. If capital created demand, there would not be 8 to 10 trillion reserved in the hands of the largest global corporations. ...Still waiting for that to trickle down?
SmallBIZ needs to differentiate itself from transnational corporate interests.
SmallBIZ needs demand - otherwise known as customers.
The simple reality is that the higher the uncertainty, the higher the potential reward must be for investment to take place. With Obama we have not only the risk of unaffordable health insurance mandates--which will actually cause many small businesses to drop coverage which is currently offered, DECREASING coverage--but the certainty at some point of higher taxes, and the present reality of intrusive and incompetent bureaucratic intrusion into the business world.
High risk, low reward equals companies holding on to capital rather than wasting it. The same thing happened in the Great Depression, when that generations Boy Wonder enacted--often by fiat--what was quite literally an economic Fascism. I use that term clinically: the first guy put in charge of the New Deal--Hugh Johnson--was a fan of Mussolini. How many of you knew that?
Please stop calling this Health Care Reform. It is nothing of the sort. It is a take-over of the process by which the provision of health care is paid for. That is a totally different animal. It is a plain attempt to reduce the economic freedom of Americans in directing our own health care.
Here is what I believe is the shortest and clearest treatment of what is ACTUALLY wrong with our system: http://www.goodnessmovement.com/files/Download/Notes--31--healthcare%20in%20ten%20paragraphs.pdf
Ten paragraphs. None of the formerly relevant media were able to come up with anything this clear in years of trying.
The Commerce Clause exists specifically to prevent this sort of thing, which amounts to Inter-State protectionism.
Keynes was plainly a Fabian--one of the first people he wrote when he finished his "General Theory" was George Bernard Shaw, bragging about the long term, gradualistic, creeping effects it would have--and his system intended to bankrupt, not save, any and all Capitalistic nations foolish enough to fall for his silly word games.
That case is made here: http://www.goodnessmovement.com/files/Download/keynes.pdf
When I originally attempted to debunk the premise of this article and inject some truth into the discussion, I did not anticipate a reactionary attack by a gang of playground bully ideologues so letââ¬â¢s go back.
First some facts about the ACA:
ââ¬Â¦Job killing for SmallBIZ?
http://www.factcheck.org/2011/01/a-job-killing-law/
there are no mandates for SmallBIZ. It rather depends on your definition of SmallBIZ but under Dubya, corporations with hundreds of thousands of employees qualified for that moniker.
ââ¬Â¦On waivers.
http://www.factcheck.org/2010/12/health-care-law-waivers/
I donââ¬â¢t know how unions entered into this discussion aside from an expression of anti-labor bias. Unions collectively bargain for their health benefits then democratically vote on a contract so this process is largely unaffected by the ACA. For SmallBIZ it is also somewhat of a non-issue especially in Indiana. This article was after all a discussion about employment so anti-labor bias is rather antithetical to the premise.
I donââ¬â¢t think that the Annenberg Public Policy Center can be accused of being your lefty loon source.
ââ¬Â¦On uncertainty.
Claims of uncertainty about the ACA are spurious. As it is enacted law, it is easily business planned.
This is from the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation - also not exactly part of the communist plot. I recommend this Site to anyone who honestly wants to plan for ACA implementation.
http://healthreform.kff.org/timeline.aspx
ââ¬Â¦On Taxes.
Donââ¬â¢t even get me started about the viral phony 3.8 percent real estate tax email that the little creepy crawly internet critters are spreading because I will shoot that big lie down quicker than Charlie White can change his voter registration.
Now some facts about government spending and debt:
These two links are from Liberal sources but facts are facts.
Responsibility
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/chart-bush-policies-dominant-cause-of-debt.php?ref=fpblg
If Congress does nothing
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/chart-of-the-day-if-congress-does-nothing-the-deficit-will-disappear.php
Economics:
I am not an economist and guess that most of my detractors are not either. That stated, I did not want to get into those weeds.
My bad for using the phrase ââ¬Ådemand side economicsââ¬Â. I never mentioned Keynes. I also donââ¬â¢t think that Keynes coined that phrase or ever used it. He did use the term ââ¬Åaggregate demandââ¬Â.
I would say that we suffer from a crisis of aggregate demand. In other words, nobody has any freaking money because the Republicans let the banksters rip us off.
Let me get this straight. Republicans are telling us that we now need to double down on the policies that got us into this mess and that will somehow magically get us out. If you are in a hole, stop digging.
What the hell does Jerry Garcia have to do with the price of tea in China. Oh well. I guess Iââ¬â¢ll just take my tinfoil hat and go home to Mama.
I know Diane is not blaming anyone. :)
Cost uncertainties for health care have been around for a very long time before health care reform.
It's been the double digit premium increases, co-pays, poor coverage, and premium participation that has hit small business owners particularly hard. It's difficult to attract talent when employees can't afford to take a job at a entrepreneurial start-up because of the insurance. At least with health care reform there's more of a level playing field.
As for regulations - I think that the laissez faire economics prior to the Obama administration speak for themselves. Keep in mind virtually every regulation came about because of an abuse. I'd be happier if the market was more self-regulating.
The health care law was put into effect because the system is flawed. Someone posted an analogy comparing healthcare to car service. One problem, what about the people that can't pay? Its fine if someone can't afford to get their car fixed, but if they can't afford to get their lung/leg/other body part fixed, what happens? The health care INSURANCE reform bill is supposed to answer that question. The health care insurance status quo was and is unacceptable. Here's hoping the watered down changes enacted by this administration will help those of us in the most need. Remember, the alternative was (still is actually) health care costs rising around 10% PER YEAR. Therefore, without health care insurance reform, companies wouldn't be able to afford to insure their employees anyway. Think things through people instead of listening to big business and right wing talking points.
It's time that small businesses stop hiding behind the uncertainty fairy and start rethinking their blind opposition to effort that would put disposable income into their customer's hands - and into their own company's accounts.
There are no other considerations. The only consideration is the is the needs of old and new customers alike. That's what drives hiring decisions. To blame that on an act that really doesn't take place until 2014 is absolute nonsense.
Cliff notes-I disagree w/Don.