McCarthy: Small businesses live in fear of Obamacare and are already firing workers or holding off on hiring others

 House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) gives us his weekly view from Capitol Hill:

  "Back in 2009, as the debate over the President’s proposed health care law heated up, I held a Town Hall here in Bakersfield to hear directly from members of our community on this issue.  Thousands came to CSUB that night - and a shocking 90% strongly opposed the law. Now, as the January 1 date for full implementation of Obamacare comes closer, small business owners, families and individuals in California and across the nation are beginning to grasp the drastic impact Obamacare will have on their families.

 "In fact, small business owners are so afraid of what Obamacare implementation means for their bottom line that many are not only holding off on hiring, but already laying off workers. A recent Gallup poll found that 41% of businesses surveyed are so worried about the cost increases caused by Obamacare they have frozen hiring. And about one fifth of small employers revealed they’d already reduced the number of employees they have as a direct result of Obamacare. The majority of businesses believe Obamacare will lead to increased costs and reduced quality of health care. As I travel around our communities in California, I hear the same concerns voiced by our local small business owners. 

 "Unfortunately, leading health care and economic policy analysts agree- Californians are in for rate shock.  According to a recent Forbes article, the myriad of regulations and mandates in Obamacare will drive up insurance costs for Californians purchasing health care on their own by as much as 146%! The article observes that on average, a healthy 25 or 40 year old consumer in California will see their individual-market premium double. Ironically, the President attacked insurers back in 2010 after they announced that some groups would face premium increases of up to 39%.

 "Our homegrown businesses and hardworking California taxpayers already struggle to survive here thanks to some of the furthest-reaching and duplicative regulations in the nation. The last thing we need are thousands more pages of bureaucratic regulations from Obamacare. Still, Democratic state legislator Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez recently introduced legislation (AB 880) that piles on even more red tape to the health care law that will exacerbate the harmful effect Obamacare will have on our small business growth and hiring.

"Small business and individual freedom are at the heart of the entrepreneurship and innovation needed for job creation. Obamacare is already getting in the way of small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs’ ability to succeed, and this has serious implications for economic recovery. Like the attendees of my 2009 health care Town Hall, I continue to be gravely concerned about the effect the health care law will have on the California economy and taxpayers – which is why I have voted over 30 times in the House to repeal or replace Obamacare. I urge Governor Brown and California Democrats to wake up to the reality of Obamacare and put California back on track. This law must be repealed.