Free Republic

MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley on Tuesday announced that Alabama will not set up a state insurance exchange under the federal health care law. “I am not going to set up a state-based exchange that will create a tax burden of up to $50 million on the people of Alabama. As governor, I cannot support adding such a tax burden onto our citizens,” Governor Bentley said. “The Affordable Care Act is neither affordable nor does it actually improve health care. Congress and the President have said they want to work together to solve the fiscal crisis facing this country, and...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: A bunch of CEOs are in Washington. These people are beside themselves. They're having to hire outside consultants to pore through the Obamacare legislation and advise them, tell them what they have to do to comply. And they are asking for some kind of relief. You've got John Schnatter at Papa John's pizza, the Applebee's people and a number of other restaurant chains are saying, "We have no choice." If they're gonna keep our products priced where they are, which is the price they've all determined is the most sensible for profit stability and affordability for customers,...

RUSH: A bunch of CEOs are in Washington. These people are beside themselves. They're having to hire outside consultants to pore through the Obamacare legislation and advise them, tell them what they have to do to comply. And they are asking for some kind of relief. You've got John Schnatter at Papa John's pizza, the Applebee's people and a number of other restaurant chains are saying, "We have no choice." If they're gonna keep our products priced where they are, which is the price they've all determined is the most sensible for profit stability and affordability for customers, they're gonna...

It appears Florida will adopt part of the Affordable Healthcare Act, better known as "Obamacare," after all. Gov. Rick Scott had opposed implementing the plan but now, it looks like he is ready to accept at least part of it. For months now, Scott and some fellow Republicans in the legislature have been pledging to defeat Obamacare. At the same time, those lawmakers haven't started any processes to implement health care reform in Florida. Scott now says, "It's not enough to say no to Obamacare." On Tuesday, incoming House Speaker Rep. Will Weatherford (R) will hold a news conference about...

Glens Falls Hospital announced Tuesday morning it is eliminating 29 jobs and reducing five other employees to part-time status, as part of a cost-reduction program being blamed on “declining reimbursement levels and other economic challenges.” “We deeply regret the pain and anguish this difficult decision will cause for so many of our co-workers, but sustaining the fiscal health of Glens Falls Hospital so it can and will continue to ensure quality health care for the southeastern Adirondack region is our paramount responsibility,” said Glens Falls Hospital President and CEO David Kruczlnicki, in a prepared statement. Tuesday’s announcement comes less than...

President Obama’s re-election and Democratic gains in the US Senate end any possibility of repealing the Obama health law. It will roll out as written, imposing major changes soon on you and your family. If you are uninsured because you can’t afford it, help may be on the way. But if you are one of the 250 million Americans with coverage, there are big problems ahead.If you get your health insurance through a job, you might lose it as of Jan. 1, 2014. That’s when the new “employer mandate” kicks in, requiring employers with 50 or more full-time workers to...

Applebee’s CEO Zane Tankel hinted yesterday that the company will be likely be laying off several employees and will refrain from hiring more due to President Obama’s re-election and the roll-out of Obamacare. For those of you unaware of Obamacare, it a new initiative put forth by the President which requires any employer with 50 or more employees to provide federal government-approved health care for its employees. If a company fails to do so, it will pay a $2,000 fine per person. Tankel released the following statement to Fox News: “We’ve calculated it will cost some millions of dollars across...

The answer, of course, is an emphatic yes, since by its very nature, ObamaCare is too much for ObamaCare, but individual states' freedom to opt out of designing their own state-specific health insurance exchanges is turning out to be yet another flaw in the oh-so-masterful plan.Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the government is extending the deadline by which states must submit their blueprints for their exchanges, meant to be tools with which consumers can shop around for insurance options, but all states must still indicate whether they're planning on doing it themselves, forging a...

Small business owner Judy Nichols, a Papa John's franchise owner, told FOX and Friends today that she will be forced to cut her staffing or pay an Obamacare fine of $40,000 that she cannot afford. Nichols says, "Every restaurant you eat at is impacted negatively by the new health care law."

Operative Faith reveals that Kroger will soon join the ranks of Durden Restaurants and slash the hours of its non-exempt (hourly) workers to avoid millions in Obamacare penalties. To give you a sense of Kroger’s size and importance, its sales last year were $90 billion and it employs nearly 350,000 people. Most of its jobs are hourly and the vast majority of workers are neither millionaires or billionaires. Faith is a mid-level manager at Kroger and reports the dire news: Last week we found out that, beginning in January, any employee who is not full-time at that point,will be limited...

Among the objections to ObamaCare, one that has not gotten as much attention as it should is the president's power to waive the law for any company, union or other enterprise he chooses. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution provides for "equal protection of the laws" for all Americans. To have a law that can cost an organization millions of dollars a year either apply or not apply, depending on the whim or political interest of the President of the United States, is to make a mockery of the rule of law. How secure is any freedom when there is...

We are less than 50 days away from the fiscal cliff, and Congress returns to Washington today with a mission to avoid a fiscal and economic crisis that would easily spin the country into a new recession. Peter Ferrara blasts Obamanomics in general at Forbes today, but also explains the stakes involved for the lame-duck session: Last year I wrote a short book for Encounter called “Obama and the Crash of 2013.” I predicted then that Obama’s policies of increased top tax rates for nearly all major federal taxes, soaring new regulatory burdens, and loose, cheap dollar monetary policies, would...

Obamacare’s coming. Love it or hate it, President Barack Obama’s re-election Tuesday cleared the last major hurdle toward implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Businesses are being forced to take a fast and hard look at how to handle the shift in health-care benefits and potential costs that are part of the law that goes fully into effect in 14 months. “This is here to stay,” said J.D. Piro, a senior vice president at Aon Hewitt who leads the company’s health law consulting group. “I’ve been saying for a couple of years this is by and large an...

As Twitchy has been reporting, the layoff bomb has detonated. Many companies, both large and small, have been forced to lay off workers due to President Obama’s re-election. With no hope of Obamacare being repealed, they are now forced to lay off employees in order to stay in business. But it’s not just layoffs. Some companies are also contemplating cutting hours. Sadly, many companies have already done so. Part-time is the new full-time in Obamaville. This doesn’t just hurt the workers, who now have to try to live on a far more meager salary. It hurts the country as a...

The CEO of popular pizza chain Papa John's says his employees may face reduced hours and he expects his business costs to rise because President Obama's re-election most likely insures the president's health care reform law will be implemented in full. NaplesNews.com reports John Schnatter made the remarks to a small group at Edison State College's Collier County campus the day after the election. Schnatter, who supported Mitt Romney in the election, said all Americans having health insurance under ObamaCare is a good, but estimates the change will cost Papa John's $5 million to $8 million annually. Schnatter estimated that...

Almost four years ago Rush had chest pains during a vacation in Hawaii. He received the best possible care, and all turned out well. He revealed that he does not have health insurance and pays out of pocket, negotiating the best rate. Will Rush take this opportunity to be the civil rights leader of the 21st century and engage in civil disobedience? Will he tell Pharaoh Obama to let his people go!

The CEO of a huge New York Applebees franchise decided to join fellow fast food CEO John Shattner of Papa John’s in saying that he will layoff workers and stop hiring new ones if the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is implemented. Applebees franchise owner Zane Tankel, announced his plans almost immediately after President Obama’s reelection. The Twitterverse immediately went crazy with plans for boycotts. One tweet read: “So far I’ve seen Papa John’s and Applebees threatening to fire people since their choice didn’t win the election. Disgusting on either side.” Others said: “BOYCOTT APPLEBEES NOW.” “Add @Applebees...

The Obamacare Layoffs Begin...By Jillian Kay Melchior November 9, 2012 12:25 P.M. The Obama health-care law’s adverse effects on employment are no secret. But it’s one thing to look at the economics, and it’s quite another to hear it firsthand from a small-business owner who’s being forced into an untenable position. Yesterday, a Las Vegas business owner fired 22 of his 144 employees, phoning in anonymously to a local radio host and explaining how the decision was directly caused by President Obama’s reelection. The interview is articulate and nuanced, worth listening to in its entirety. But here’s the jist of...

Businesses with 50 or more employees who average at least 30 hours of work a week will be subject to the Obamacare insurance coverage mandate. Companies are reportedly planning large layoffs due to the implementation of Obamacare. But, companies can potentially avoid being subject to Obamacare's insurance requirements by limiting employees’ weekly hours to less than the 30 hour level defined by Obamacare as “full-time.” A little-known section in the ObamaCare health reform law defines “full-time” work as averaging only 30 hours per week, a definition that will affect some employers who utilize part-time workers to trim the cost of...

...Congress did a poor job of deliberating regarding EESA. Its leadership deferred to leaders of the executive branch and failed to show a seemly skepticism about the bailout. In the end, Congress resorted to less seemly methods to pass the law. After the initial rejection of EESA, congressional leaders purchased the necessary votes for passage by offering funding for projects favored by members who had voted “no” earlier. In other words, the leaders bought the passage of EESA by wasting perhaps $150 billion on what were essentially bribes.56 Vote-buying, not deliberation, brought victory on October 3.... ...The first vote taken...