Some Costs of ObamaCare

On February 12, 2009, President Barack Obama gave another of his inspirational speeches to Caterpillar employees at the Caterpillar plant in East Peoria, Illinois. During his address, the president asked the audience to recognize that

what's happening at this company tells us a larger story about what's happening with our nation's economy - because, in many ways, you can measure America's bottom line by looking at Caterpillar's bottom line.

Oh, really, Mr. President? Let's just take a look at Caterpillar's bottom line.

Just this past Wednesday, Caterpillar announced that due to the new healthcare legislation advanced by the president and his comrades, the company will have to take a $100 million tax charge in the current quarter. Caterpillar said the $100 million hit will only be a one-time expense, but they are also anxious about the higher taxes and additional expenses that will be enacted with the launch of the new law. That's a lot to swallow considering that Caterpillar also lost 75% of its profit in 2009.

How's that "bottom line" thing working out for you, Mr. President?

Unfortunately, Caterpillar isn't the only business experiencing this new burden. Both AT&T and Verizon, the two largest phone companies in America, are reporting that healthcare reform will cost them millions of dollars. For this quarter alone, AT&T's additional costs will actually reach $1 billion!

Consequently, AT&T said in a government filing on Friday

As a result of this legislation, including the additional tax burden, AT&T will be evaluating prospective changes to the active and retiree healthcare benefits offered by the company.

In other words, we are somehow going to have to account for these expenses and will probably do so by cutting some benefits for our employees and retirees.

Verizon has sent letters to current employees informing them that changes to their healthcare plans are imminent. I hope these workers are wise enough to know that it's not going to be an improvement.

These companies are just beginning of the list of big businesses taking immediate hits from the new bill. Deere & Co., Valero, AK Steel Holding, 3M Co, and others to come are reporting that they will be forced to incur new and substantial expenses.

On the other side, there actually are people out there who see this as a good thing. They believe that these corporations are basically so greedy and evil that they deserve to be taxed like this. Their naive and ignorant minds fail to recognize that AT&T and the others will not actually pay these bills, though. Any person with a basic understanding of economics knows full well that these costs will either be passed on to the consumer or balanced out by eliminating employees. Does anyone really think that's good for the country?

I guess that makes it obvious that some people (Obama, Pelosi, Ahmadinejad, Satan, et al.) don't really want what is good for America. Harsh? I think not.

It looks like Pelosi was right after all. We did "have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."

I guess we'll also find out she won't be the Speaker much longer, as well.