I work as a tenured prof at a state university so am fairly well-protected. You never know what might happen next, but whatever it is, it will affect others first. That said, I didn't vote for Obama. I thought his plans would hurt small businesses. I listen to Fox. But I have many friends who are small-time artists and hustlers and photographers all of whom voted for Obama. Now they say their plans cost thrice as much as they used to and they feel fooled. However, they are not becoming Republicans. They are just angry at the whole system. I find this kind of dumb because I see capitalism as a good thing. If business is booming and companies can pay their taxes, everyone benefits.
I think we probably needed someone at the helm with more of a political legacy behind them. Obama thought he would wade in and change everything for the better. As if that one guy had all the answers. He had just caused lots of weird problems.
There is a local restaurant that closed down today. It had sixty employees. I liked the place because it had neat aquariums filled with sharks. I like sharks because I am a capitalist. It was called the Neptune Diner (Oneonta, NY). A friend of mine sent me an email about why the employer closed it down:
"At the close of business today the Neptune Diner will be closing its doors for good. The Neptune employs 60+ people which puts them over the 50 employee limit that makes employers pay for insurance for the employees..... this cost was going to be close to $180K / yr that was the final straw for Paul & Tasi Karabinis. The Neptune's weekly payroll was in the neighborhood of $20k, when their accountant told them the ins would cost close to $13k/month more, Paul at age 65 had a tough decision to make. Very sad to see in our small town how Obamacare will play out…. the salaries of 60+ in Oneonta is a big hit & very sad."
Whatever. It's just one place. And the media keeps saying that this is what won't happen. Even the local paper hasn't said that this happened because of Obamacare. It's a Democratic paper and they endorsed Obama so they can't afford to tell this news. But if this plays out across the nation, then what? I suppose we will end up with the few prosperous chains that survive this hit: Wal-Mart, Taco Bell, and so on. Local manufacturers will shut down, etc.
I used to be an idealist but now that I'm older I don't see idealism as a good thing. It costs a lot, and it doesn't pay out.
I think we probably needed someone at the helm with more of a political legacy behind them. Obama thought he would wade in and change everything for the better. As if that one guy had all the answers. He had just caused lots of weird problems.
There is a local restaurant that closed down today. It had sixty employees. I liked the place because it had neat aquariums filled with sharks. I like sharks because I am a capitalist. It was called the Neptune Diner (Oneonta, NY). A friend of mine sent me an email about why the employer closed it down:
"At the close of business today the Neptune Diner will be closing its doors for good. The Neptune employs 60+ people which puts them over the 50 employee limit that makes employers pay for insurance for the employees..... this cost was going to be close to $180K / yr that was the final straw for Paul & Tasi Karabinis. The Neptune's weekly payroll was in the neighborhood of $20k, when their accountant told them the ins would cost close to $13k/month more, Paul at age 65 had a tough decision to make. Very sad to see in our small town how Obamacare will play out…. the salaries of 60+ in Oneonta is a big hit & very sad."
Whatever. It's just one place. And the media keeps saying that this is what won't happen. Even the local paper hasn't said that this happened because of Obamacare. It's a Democratic paper and they endorsed Obama so they can't afford to tell this news. But if this plays out across the nation, then what? I suppose we will end up with the few prosperous chains that survive this hit: Wal-Mart, Taco Bell, and so on. Local manufacturers will shut down, etc.
I used to be an idealist but now that I'm older I don't see idealism as a good thing. It costs a lot, and it doesn't pay out.