What Will Today’s Obamacare Ruling Mean for business in Texoma and Across the Nation?
I spent about 20 minutes on the phone this afternoon with a friend who's threatened to have me tarred and feathered if I use his real name. So I'll call him Bubba. He hates that name so I think it fits him. Bubba is a contractor with only a handful of employees. I wanted to do an on-air interview with him about the ruling; get a business man's view. But, Bubba is also mad as hell right now. He's threatening to climb into a bottle of scotch and stay there. I've arranged an intervention for later tonight.
We were, of course, discussing the Supreme Court's ruling that the Obamacare mandate is, in effect, a tax and therefore is constitutional. The 6-3 decision has the liberals cheering while they give conservatives the proverbial finger. And conservatives are falling back to regroup and re-energize for November. My conversation with Bubba continues. "What am I gonna do?", he asks. "Pay up, sucker!", I said, somewhat jokingly, trying to lighten the mood a bit. He didn't see the humor. I cannot print what he said next. It was filthy.
Seriously, his dilemma is no different than any other business owner. What does it all mean? There are taxes and penalties that will impact both the employer and the employee. The NFIB (National Federation of Independent Businesses) joined the fight against Obamacare back in 2010. The small business community, by and large, has steadfastly opposed the legislation. But, of course, their arguments have fallen on deaf ears in Washington.
See the latest news on today's ruling from the NFIB here.
Whether you own a business or not, today's ruling will certainly have some influence on how you vote in November. Take our poll and tell us what you think.