Tuesday, June 05, 2018

On ObamaCare, business creation, and investment

If you are a small business owner or a solo entrepreneur, I am curious how you feel about ObamaCare? (If you are not in that category, you are welcome to offer your comments, but please make it clear to others that you are not in a "buck stops here" position) Does it affect your business decisions (or not)? I am concerned that it is stifling new business creation and business growth. This is topical b/c our COBRA is expiring (yes, have had it for 18 months now). Now I need to buy a group plan (even though I don't want any employees), hire someone as an employee, pay payroll and social security taxes and a payroll service provider. So, I am incurring a bunch of unnecessary costs because I have to get a group plan instead of an individual plan because of the vast differences in costs of the two plans. And that's for the high deductible Bronze. We need to set aside more than $30,000 per year to afford premiums and budget for deductibles. What pains me more than all of that (and it really hurts) is this. I imagine that there are people working at companies with employer-sponsored plans who dream of starting their own businesses and achieving financial freedom, having a shot at the American Dream and creating jobs. But, because many people are not in a position to have $30k of free cash flow forecasted for the year right off the bat, they can't "go for it." That means businesses are not getting started and jobs aren't getting created. That saddens me. And that's on top of the deadweight loss associated with this. I blame ObamaCare for having caused the increase in premiums at astronomical rates over the past few years...something my cousin Lee, for example, who has spent his entire life in the health insurance industry predicted would happen. I don't want uninsured people to not have healthcare, but I believe the way to get the money to pay for that is by making it easier for people to start businesses that create jobs and growth.

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