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astinkyfart 10-Nov-12, 10:56	Companies plan massive layoffs as Obamacare becomes reality By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times November 8, 2012, 09:52PM Welch Allyn Welch Allyn, a company that manufactures medical diagnostic equipment in central New York, announced in September that they would be laying off 275 employees, or roughly 10% of their workforce over the next three years. One of the major reasons discussed for the layoffs was a proactive response to the Medical Device Tax mandated by the new healthcare law. Dana Holding Corp. As recently as a week ago, a global auto parts manufacturing company in Ohio known as Dana Holding Corp., warned their employees of potential layoffs, citing "$24 million over the next six years in additional U.S. health care expenses". After laying off several white collar staffers, company insiders have hinted at more to come. The company will have to cover the additional $24 million cost somehow, which will likely equate to numerous cuts in their current workforce of 25,500 worldwide. Stryker One of the biggest medical device manufacturers in the world, Stryker will close their facility in Orchard Park, New York, eliminating 96 jobs in December. Worse, they plan on countering the medical device tax in Obamacare by slashing 5% of their global workforce - an estimated 1,170 positions. Boston Scientific In October of 2009, Boston Scientific CEO Ray Elliott, warned that proposed taxes in the health care reform bill could "lead to significant job losses" for his company. Nearly two years later, Elliott announced that the company would be cutting anywhere between 1,200 and 1,400 jobs, while simultaneously shifting investments and workers overseas - to China. Medtronic In March of 2010, medical device maker Medtronic warned that Obamacare taxes could result in a reduction of precisely 1,000 jobs. That plan became reality when the company cut 500 positions over the summer, with another 500 set for the end of 2013. Others A short list of other companies facing future layoffs at the hands of Obamacare: Smith & Nephew - 770 layoffs Abbott Labs - 700 layoffs Covidien - 595 layoffs Kinetic Concepts - 427 layoffs St. Jude Medical - 300 layoffs Hill Rom - 200 layoffs Beyond the complete elimination of a significant number of American jobs is another looming problem created by the health care law - a shift from full-time to part-time workers
softaire 10-Nov-12, 10:59	And so it begins. This is not unexpected though, is it.
dmaestro 10-Nov-12, 12:34	Of course the ruling plutocratic class is going to strike back, and blame Obamacare. Actually, private employer health care is and was doomed because of the cost curve, and Obamacare is the first step towards fixing the problem, not the end game. The plutocrats want to blame Obama for what they were going to do anyway. You all wanted to shove vouchers down the throats of workers knowing they couldn't keep up with the costs so you could cut your taxes a little while people died. You all refused to have a government option. Guess what? Obamacare is law and people are going to rise up and demand their human rights to health care even if the private system refused to cover people. When the private system collapses, and it will, we will evolve towards universal health care by expanding Medicare to more of the population which was the only practical long term solution anyway. Future generations will condemn you for the needless deaths and suffering you caused by clinging to a dead system too long, but I will leave that to history. As you guys become increasingly a minority, you will find that most other people want the government to do what it does best and they don't want profiteers exploiting them.
dmaestro 10-Nov-12, 12:46	Remember... Obamacare was Romneycare which was a right wing, Heritage Foundation idea. Because it was a right wing idea, it has systemic flaws because profit is unstable, as the experience in MA shows as well. But the alternative of the rapid growth of uninsured as doomed employer funded health insurance fades away was not acceptable, so that is the best we could get. When the right wing, for profit aspects are exposed as problematic over the long run, we will evolve to universal health care like every other civilized nation. The only question is how many will needlessly suffer in the interim. Part time workers need to be covered too. The plutocrats must cede their ill gotten gains.
softaire 10-Nov-12, 16:20	universal health care That has been the goal all along. All the contortions and machinations with rule making, mandatory taxes & penalties is for the goal of destroying private insurance so that government can control more. The desire to control health care solely by the government has led to higher prices on all insurance, the loss of thousands of jobs, the loss of many medical related companies, the lowering of the standard of living across the board, and the additional burden (costs) placed on workers to cover the insurance costs of non-workers. Because the Democrats wanted that.
dmaestro 10-Nov-12, 19:34	Employer based insurance is not sustainable for the average worker. Only federally supported insurance is sustainable. The government is NOT destroying private insurance. It will be too expensive because the private insurance needs to profit. The death panels are the private health providers. Universal health care is inevitable, and a basic right. We are not going back. Forward!
softaire 10-Nov-12, 21:45	"Universal health care is inevitable, and a basic right" Yup... it says so right in the Constitution. It's right in .... It's right here in.... Well, I'm sure it's in there, I just can't find that right now. Wait a bit, I'll find it.
aussiespud 11-Nov-12, 01:29	I dunno what it is we do down here but we somehow manage to have a universal govt controlled healthcare system that coexists perfectly well with a strong private health insurance sector.....and have so for years.
changeling 11-Nov-12, 01:32	Some don't believe it aussiespud. It is only America that can get it right. No one else knows what they are doing.
astinkyfart 11-Nov-12, 05:55	Australia has a very good health care system. People don't have to go broke to be well.
changeling 11-Nov-12, 06:05	Speaking of laying off staff: www.examiner.com
astinkyfart 11-Nov-12, 06:25	From wiki Pimentel said the Examiner has "a less-strict standard for accuracy and attribution in stories that appear on the Web" than for publications in print.[22] According to Smith, Robert Gunnison, director of school affairs at the U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, shares his own view that newspapers "should observe the same journalism standards online as they do in print."[22]
changeling 11-Nov-12, 06:30	Does that mean this didn't happen stinky? There are other sources around! One comment I read stated that it was probably an automatic shut off of credit once the election was over. I suppose that is quite possible, however one would think the 'election machine' of Romney's would at least allow these people to get home without incurring extra expenses of their own!
astinkyfart 11-Nov-12, 06:55	Change Does not mean it didn't happen. Like you said it was probably automatic. If the company themselves say they don't have standards then maybe use another source. Happening and how it happened are two different things. The purpose of the article is to make Romney look like an a**hole. Those that want to believe it jump on it. Its called sensationalism.
changeling 11-Nov-12, 07:04	That applies to whoever one reads or at times listens to. The trick is to differentiate the truth from the rubbish. Some here trust foxnews services to tell them the truth some rely on other sources. I try and use a wide variety when I can. A little difficult with US news services as every single one of them appears biased one way or another. What are your thoughts on PBS television which we get almost daily here? Left, right, good, bad, biased or fair?
astinkyfart 11-Nov-12, 07:13	PBS Is something I grew up with. I would say its fair but then again it might depend on who is in office. Overall I would say PBS is simply educational. When I was a kid we did not have cable or satellite. I could turn my TV to the UHF channels and tune in PBS. I watched a lot of educational kids shows.
softaire 11-Nov-12, 07:19	"Some workers found themselves stranded in strange cities across the nation, hundreds or thousands of miles from home, without a penny in their pocket and no plan of action to take next." This sounds just a little too much like a "tree-hugger" story to me. They were poor, indigent, hardworking, dedicated employees who just happened to be in a strange city, hundreds or thousands of miles from home without a penny to their name, except for a campaign credit card provided by a campaign that everyone knows will not be used after the campaign. But, there are no names or real examples of any such happenings. Even if it actually did happen, how could anyone be so naive as to let themselves get in that situation? Change... come on. Of course, none of knows if anything that we post is actually the truth or just a made-up fantasy... unless we are there ourselves. We just take what we trust, or what makes sense, and do the best we can with it. This sounds a little bit "fishy" to me.
changeling 11-Nov-12, 07:27	softy I didn't say it has actually happened or that the workers were poor or indigent. Just a post with a comment initially. Much like we get from 'all sides' in here. Rubbish? Perhaps! Just about every single conspiracy written about or reported on by foxnews and Breitbart sounds a little fishy to me too.
softaire 11-Nov-12, 07:37	change I understand that perfectly well... hence my comment about none of us knowing whether what we post is actually true or not and that we post things that we trust etc. To me that is a pretty "fishy" story that looks like it was meant to disparage Romney. You seem to trust it. That is your call. To paraphrase a famous quote: "we are what we post", "We are who we quite".
changeling 11-Nov-12, 07:40	Guess you missed this post softy. "...One comment I read stated that it was probably an automatic shut off of credit once the election was over. I suppose that is quite possible, however one would think the 'election machine' of Romney's would at least allow these people to get home without incurring extra expenses of their own!..." From a different source. Trust it, no. Question it, yes.

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