To no one’s surprise except Obama voters, another business cuts employee hours to pay for Obamacare

**Posted by Phineas

β€œBut at least we won the election! Obama!!”
β€œBut at least we won the election! Obama!!”

This time it’s aΒ Wendy’s franchiseΒ in Omaha:

A fast-food chain is slashing employee hours so franchise owners don’t have to pay health benefits. Around 100 local Wendy’s workers have learned their hours are being cut. A spokesperson says a new health care law is to blame.

β€œThirty-six to 37 hours a week.” That’s how many hours T.J. Growbeck works at the 84th and Giles Wendy’s restaurant. The money he earns helps him pay for the basics, but that’s not the case for all his co-workers. β€œThere are some people doing it trying to get by.”

The company has announced that all non-management positions will have their hours reduced to 28 a week. Gary Burdette, Vice President of Operations for the local franchise, says the cuts are coming because the new Affordable Health Care Act requires employers to offer health insurance to employees working 32-38 hours a week. Under the current law they are not considered full time and that as a small business owner, he can’t afford to stay in operation and pay for everyone’s health insurance.

I won’t even bother to say something snarky about affected workers who may have voted for Obama (though, being Nebraska, I suspect there were few). I’ll just refer you to other posts underΒ “Elections Have Consequences.”

But, once again, we seeΒ economically illiterate peopleΒ (h/tΒ Jim Hoft) hooting like monkeys at a business for responding rationally to changes in their costs to do business. Say it after me:Β “Health care is a cost, it is never free.”

If you make a business pay more to conduct business, as ObamaCare does, it has to recoup those costs somehow, or go out of business. (And yes, Lefties, not making profit to the owner’s satisfaction is a legitimate reason to go out of business. He’s not running a charity.) It can pass the cost on to the customer, or it can cut costs. One way to do so is to cut staff hours to avoid the ridiculously low definition of “full-time” written into ObamaCare.

As far as I’m concerned, this businessman did exactly the right thing in light of the burdens laid on him by progressive statists in D.C. And you can bet you’re going to see a lot more of this as the effects of ObamaCare spread.

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)

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