Obama(care) economy

And so it begins...

http://nationaljournal.com/domesticpolicy/floodgates-open-on-new-health-...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/6125-proposed-regulations-and-notificati...

http://www.regulations.gov/#!home;tab=search

This whole crazy nonsense began in the heyday of our own rampant fascist era, FDR's wage and price controls during WW2. Companies were forbidden to compete for employees by offering higher wages, so some bright Ivy League MBA or other hadå hit upon employer-paid  "fringe benefits" as the lure to get and keep scare employees. I am sure there is some fascinating legislative history why FDR did not immediately put the kibosh on that idea, but the fact is that the IRS agreed benefits are a deductible business expense -- and Americans were on the road to total addition to "freebees."

So what happens when something appears to be free? Demand soon exceeds supply, prices / costs rise, but who cares, somebody else is paying for it....

When government stepped in to rescue the elderly and the poor from the costs of their health care (Medicare and Medicaid), it only accelerated the rise in costs for this "free" benefit. What the heck, all you have to do is send the bill to the government. And as long as you have a job with cost of living adjustments to your pay, who complains if your payroll deductions eat up more and more of your take home pay?

Each "fix" only made the problem worse (duh....), and finally we got obamacare.

What is an employer to do? If the "John Galt" solution from "Atlas Shrugged" is too philosophical or too radical, there is always basic practical economics: reduce your costs. Step One, freeze hiring. Step Two, lay off employees:

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/11/the_mass_firings_begin.html

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/how-many-businesses-have-announced-closi...

http://www.dailyjobcuts.com/#.UJwVDQHUOEh.facebook

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2012/nov/8/picket-compan...

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=22890041&nid=148&title=utah-company-blames-presi...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/after-obama-re-election-c...

Of course this is a slippery slope, because when more and more producers are idled, the economy necessarily shrinks and accelerates the trend. The stock market reacts the only way it can be expected to:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49758790 (Worst Week Since June)-- this came immediately on the news that Obama was re-elected.

Step Three: Lay off more and more full time employees, convert as many full time employees to part time as you can, until you get below the head count above which by law you MUST provide "benefits."

Step Four: Government steps in and changes the laws and regulations to outlaw part time employment or require that employers offer benefits to all employees, even if they work a single hour per week. Of course this is economically absurd and no one will keep or hire employees if this happens, and you can expect even Democrats to finally show some sense, but who knows. We can only hope. Or not.

The final step is when the whole concept of "employee" no longer exists, having been made obsolete by stupid regulations and the market's only rational reactions to them: every worker is an independent contractor. You make a deal and get paid if and when you fulfill the contract. You manage your money as you see fit, carry your own health savings account or health insurance, pay your own out-of-pocket costs. Individual Worker / Independent Contractor, Inc., the ultimate in freedom and responsibility for your own needs -- the American Way.

It will even lead to enormously reduced costs to all participants, because a job contract is infinitesimally small compared with the amount of paperwork the company and the newly hired employee have to fill out nowadays to be in compliance with regulations. Plus, there will be no more need for all the useless government paper pushers to write and enforce them. And the good thing is, there is nothing the government can do about it, because as long as we still have the Constitution, even though they have already taken away the freedom of association or the right to refuse entering into contracts you don't care for, they still can't actually force you to work.

See, obamacare will indeed lead to "fundamental transformation," but NOT as Obama had hoped. And some of you thought I am a pessimist? Who is John Galt?

But before we get there, hard times are ahead: here comes more "good" news, as expected:

http://nation.foxnews.com/medicaid-enrollment/2012/11/09/report-record-7...

Just as prescribed by Saul Alinsky in his "Rules For Radicals" -- overload the system till it collapses.

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/267095-interior-proposes-shield...

Oh yea, Obama wants us to achieve energy independence, create jobs, ... sure...