I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

In an announcement more companies should be making, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz publicly stated during a phone interview, “Other companies have announced that they won’t provide coverage for spouses; others are lobbying for the cut-off to be at 40 hours. But Starbucks will continue maintaining benefits for partners and won’t use the new law as excuse to cut benefits or lower benefits for its workers.”

The keyword in his comment that I like the most is “excuse,” because that’s exactly what these companies have used the Affordable Care Act as — an excuse.

An excuse to cut wages and benefits for their workers.  Because trust me, the executives of these companies that are screwing over their employees sure as heck aren’t taking a cut in pay or a reduction in benefits. In fact, I’m willing to bet they’ll make even more next year.

And while companies like Walmart, UPS and McDonald’s use the new health care law as an excuse to cut expenses to generate more revenue, companies like Starbucks will continue to provide better pay and benefits to their employees and will most assuredly still bring in massive profits.

Then there are the inevitable millions of Americans, mostly conservatives, that will see these cuts in benefits and hours as a sign that “Obamacare” is going to ruin business.  Which I always find to be pathetically amusing.

By all means, let’s blame the health care law which seeks to give access to health care for every American; not the greedy corporations making unheard of profits with CEO’s that have 8 figure salaries and ridiculous bonus packages.

It’s just funny to me how most Republicans seem incapable of ever just saying, “Man, enough is enough!  That’s just greed, pure and simple.”

Conservatives often quickly rush to judgement towards anyone who might rely on government assistance, many who work for companies like Walmart, UPS and McDonalds, yet never blame the companies for cutting their hours or not paying them enough to survive. If someone has a full-time job, and is barely cracking the poverty line (if they’re even above it), don’t blame them for needing help from the government.  Blame the company they’re working for and the greedy nature in which they run their business.

And while these businesses like Jimmy John’s claim they cannot “survive” the Affordable Care Act without screwing over their employees, it seems that companies like Starbucks have found a way.

That, or maybe these other CEO’s are just completely full of crap.

Perhaps these companies like Walmart, UPS and McDonald’s might need to hire new CEO’s — because it seems the ones they currently have can’t seem to figure out how to run a profitable business and act ethically towards their workers.

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It is astonishing how little some of the companies (and municipalities!) who should know better are cutting hours of their employees to under 30/week to avoid "the expense" of providing them insurance under the Affordable Care Act.  Let's look at just the plain laws of "worker physics." You have a certain amount of work to be done that takes a certain number of hours to do.  You hire a certain number of employees to do it.  Well ... you still have the work that must be done and it takes a certain amount of time (number of hours) to do it.  You still have to hire employees to do it.  So -- you think it is cheaper to cut hours of existing employees (thus demoralizing and angering them), hire new ones (who must be trained and for whom you must pay payroll taxes, workers comp, administer their payroll including collecting taxes and remitting them to the taxing entities) and not pay for health insurance?  REALLY?  A new employee will cost less than paying for health insurance for existing ones?  AND you will have demoralized, disincentivized, angry existing employees who won't really be going out of their way to pick up the slack.  Yeah ... Good Management 101 it is not. 

Not to mention the economy is improving (in spite of regressive fever dreams that it is tanking).  It isn't improving fast enough to suit everyone, but we were recently in a rather depressed area in a state in the south and they had built TWO new hotels since the last time we were there.  They were full.  The economy is indeed improving -- not evenly everywhere, but it is improving.  And as it improves and other businesses are hiring, do you think that employers who offer health insurance will get better quality applicants?  I certainly do. 

I'm refilling my Starbucks card today, and I'm going to make an effort to go there more often.  I want my consumer dollars to work not only for me but for the workers as well. 

L