March 28, 2024

Government misses the mark again

To the Editor:

Seventy-eight percent of the jobs in this country come from small business. It is the economic engine of America. Everyone agrees that we need more jobs and that more jobs are the key to energizing the recovery.

With that said, it makes perfect sense to burden small business with more regulation, additional taxes and to remove the things that help small business growth.

Case in point: On Oct. 31, the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS gave clarifying ruling that cafeteria and flexible spending plans would no longer be allowed to reimburse health care premiums and/or other qualifying health expenses with pre-tax dollars.

Many small businesses use this type of plan to help employees make health care more affordable. Many businesses contribute to the plans, helping employees even more.

The ruling basically makes flex plans worthless for most small businesses. That hurts employees and employers alike. Looking forward, businesses like mine will choose not to re-enroll because it no longer makes sense.

This will cause the small businesses all across the country who administer these plans to reduce workforce or go out of business.

This is only one of many very troubling discoveries that are coming to light with Obamacare. Many create significant barriers to hiring additional employees.

Did anyone read and realize all of the consequences? Nancy Pelosi said several years ago we had to pass it to find out what is in it.  As a doctor, that’s what we do with a stool sample, not legislation. They both smell bad.

To help the economy, help small business. My conclusion is simple:  The Affordable Care Act isn’t.

Dr. Steven G. Rabedeaux, DDS

Newton