There’s only one way to pull the economy out of the doldrums. We need more jobs. Now.
As Obamacare inched its way toward passage, boosters of the radical legislation began making bold new claims about its virtues. The bill, they said, would do far more than simply fix the health care system; it would create jobs and boost the economy, too.
[Oddly, they stopped short of claiming it would also help melt away the pounds as you sleep.]
Not surprisingly, the early evidence is quickly proving their claims to be false.
Consider Massachusetts. It is home to a large portion of the nation’s life sciences industry. That industry now faces major job losses due to the new Obamacare tax on medical devices. The tax is intended to raise $2.2 billion a year to help foot the bill for Obamacare.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, has been a vocal supporter of President Obama and his health care agenda. But now that the deal is done, even Patrick admits he’s worried about what Obamacare will do to the commonwealth’s economy.
Yesterday, the Boston Herald reports, Patrick said he was “obviously concerned about the medical device burden here,” adding, “You better believe I will work to make modifications” if the bill is found to be an “impediment to that industry.”
It’s not a matter of “if,” but “when.” Members of the industry are already raising red flags that the tax will bite hard. “‘This bill is a jobs killer,’ said Ernie Whiton, chief financial officer of Chelmsford’s Zoll Medical Corp., which employs about 650 people in Massachusetts. ‘We could be forced to (move) manufacturing overseas if we can’t pass along these costs to our customers.’”
So long, jobs.
If Congress had been serious about stimulating the economy, they would never have voted for Obamacare. Instead, they would have worked to prevent new tax increases until unemployment falls.
When it comes to job creation, Obamacare completely misses the mark—unless you count the thousands of IRS slots needed to enforce the bill. To learn more about the right approach for creating jobs, click here.
