Obamacare and a Seven-Foot Tall Stack of New Regulations

The office of Senator Mitch McConnell, the GOP minority leader in the Senate, has sent out a shocking photo.

This is over 20,000 pages and measures 7' 2.5". These are all the Obamacare regulations published in the Federal Register up through last week. Then last Friday they added another 828 pages. Unbelievable. And hidden in this giant stack of intrusive new regulations that seem to grow every month is a major job loss problem.

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Douglas Elmendort, Director of the Congressional Budget Office, said in February of 2011 that Obamacare could cost 800,000 jobs and the Federal Reserve has stated that Obamacare is the reason for "planned layoffs." On March 6, The Hill reported, "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday released an edition of its so-called ‘beige book,’ that said the 2010 healthcare law is being cited as a reason for layoffs and a slowdown in hiring." That same day, The Hill also said, "Higher healthcare costs were also reported in the districts of Chicago, and the Kansas City district reported ‘changes in health care policy and fiscal uncertainty as reasons for delayed hiring.'" In a recent report, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors noted:

• "Employers in several Districts cited the unknown effects of the Affordable Care Act as reasons for planned layoffs and reluctance to hire more staff."
• "Fifth District—Richmond: Employers across the District continued to cite the Affordable Care Act and its unknown impacts as reasons for planned layoffs and reluctance to hire more staff."
• "Eleventh District—Dallas: Outlooks were cautious. Some contacts noted concern that client companies are hiring the absolute minimum to get by due to uncertainty about the Affordable Care Act."

Further, several companies have announced that Obamacare is causing them to plan layoffs. Medical giant Styker announced it is cutting 1,170 jobs due to Obamacare. Medical device maker Welch Allyn also announced job cuts. Sadly, one restauranteur in Virginia has reported that he may lose his entire chain of Dunkin' Donuts because of Obamacare's onerous requirements. So, Obamacare isn't just a harmless stack of paper. It is causing real world problems.