Next Tuesday, President Obama will stand before both houses of Congress and the American people and deliver his fifth State of the Union address, sharing his thoughts on the current condition of the country and outlining his priorities for the upcoming year.
Many presidents use these occasions and the national television audience to introduce new policies, and it is likely there will be mention of ways to foster economic growth. Instead of proposing and pushing for passage of new policies, we encourage the president to instead examine the policies, like the health insurance tax, or HIT, that are already in place and ensure they are effectively delivering on their promises.
Too often, common-sense, good government solutions to problems that affect everyday Americans gets sidetracked by petty politics. Such is the case with the HIT. While the Obama Administration worked back room Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act carve outs for big corporations and labor unions, small business owners and their employees were singled out to pay the HIT. In just its first 10 years, the HIT will cost small businesses and their employees more than $100 billion, and a figure that will double to a stunning $200 billion in the second decade of the tax. That is money taken directly out of the budgets of small businesses and pockets of their employees, significantly limiting businesses’ ability to grow and employees’ ability to spend more money in their communities.
If the HIT was a tax on a niche group, the President’s intransigence might be understandable. But the HIT is slated to affect the small businesses that account for two thirds of all new jobs created, and more than 30 million people overall. By 2022, the HIT is expected to reduce the number of private sector jobs nationwide by as many as 262,000 and cost the economy as much as $35 billion.
We’ve been working to raise awareness of the HIT with our Facebook and Twitter pages, and we encourage you to join us by contacting your Member of Congress.
When the President steps to the microphone Tuesday, he is sure to have a number of key points to address. For the sake of small businesses and millions of their employees across the country, let’s hope he also is willing to examine current policies to identify ways to continue to facilitate growth.