Obamacare Supporters Attacking Job Creators has Mark of a Professional Operation
Why are Obamacare supporters attacking job creators?
When seemingly organized Obamacare supporters attack small business leaders who express concern about the health-care law, job creators are no longer just uncertain about how their business will be impacted by the law. They are afraid – for their businesses and to speak out.May 16, 2013
Like many in his business, Ruffer set up his restaurants as separate corporations a decade ago. As Obamacare emerged, he was not concerned because none of his companies had enough employees to suffer the mandate that all employers of a certain size provide health insurance to their employees.
When more details were revealed, he found out his multiple corporations did not protect him at all. Today Ruffer believes the costs of health-care reform will eat the entire profits of one of his restaurants. Just like his peers, he is uncertain about imminent costs and requirements under Obamacare and cannot plan accordingly.
All businesses are affected by the health-care law’s mandates, but small businesses – especially restaurants – have less maneuverability to pay for them. As Ruffer told his audience, passing the cost to customers risks pricing his products beyond perceived value. As a result, he would have to cut his expenses: employees, investments in new locations, and more.
In late 2012, executives from Darden Restaurants – owner of The Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Red Lobster restaurants – were planning for future compliance with the new health-care law and tested the impact of putting more workers on part-time schedules. No permanent changes ever took place, but after media reports about the testing and commentary about the cost of Obamacare by Darden’s CEO, the company was rapidly rebuked via telephone, email, and social media.
Each attack has similar fingerprints and the marks of a professional operation: telephone banks and email campaigns that erupt moments after a business leader speaks out, all focused on pressuring the exact people who can effectively slap the offender down.
Of course, those on the left aren’t the only ones to organize campaigns to target those who go against their platform. But when Obamacare supporters target small business owners – the backbone of US job creation – I have to wonder if they’ve crossed a line.
Is this new era of the permanent campaigning why Mike Ruffer believes his business is at risk? “Of course this is orchestrated, and clearly by the president’s supporters,” Democrat pollster Pat Caddell told me. “This passes the duck test: It looks, swims, and quacks like a duck. Every political operative in the country knows this is a duck.”
Mike Leven, president of Sands Casino, summed it up recently: “For the first time in my long career, I feel like a target.” He is not alone. A recent Job Creators Alliance poll showed 70 percent of small business owners feel Washington has become more hostile to them in recent years. Their peers at Five Guys, Denny’s, Applebee’s, Red Lobster, and more would certainly agree.
Bernie Marcus is co-founder and former CEO of Home Depot and co-founder of the national Job Creators Alliance.