There is a new Fortune 500 company in Washington, DC and it is called the federal government. 

October 3^rd marked the one-year anniversary of the largest government bailout in U.S. history.  The passage of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) gave our government (and taxpayers) a majority ownership stake in most of our financial services companies.  This is one anniversary we shouldn’t be excited to celebrate.

In the year since the TARP was launched, things have gone from bad to worse.  In the last nine months we have watched as the federal government took over General Motors; passed a “stimulus” bill that did little to stimulate small business or our economy; transformed itself into a used car salesman with the Cash for Clunkers program; and it is now working around the clock to take over our health care system.

As small business owners and entrepreneurs, we know that innovation, hard work, ingenuity and capital investment are key components to a healthy economy.  There isn’t much the federal government can do except keep taxes low and resist the temptation to add new mandates.  Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened much this year.

With small business representing 99.7 percent of all U.S. employer firms, legislators need to move beyond more mandates and regulations and look for ways that really help our small businesses.

Let’s take a look at the health care debate. The legislation advancing in Congress would require all Americans to get insurance—through an employer, a government program or by buying it themselves.     The more people learn about the health care reform proposals, the more they don’t like them. 

I have heard from small business owners across the country that what they are hearing about current legislation will do little to help them provide access to health care but does a lot to penalize them for not providing coverage.

There were nearly 500 amendments lined up for the “Baucus” health care bill (the bill that Senator Baucus has introduced in the Senate and will likely be the vehicle for any reform).  It is clear there are a lot of people who don’t like the bill in its present form.  And, there is enough opposition to a “public” or government option that it was voted down in Committee last week.

Health care reform legislation will be debated on the Senate floor during most of October.  All indications are that another effort will be made to re-visit the public option as well as many other ideas – some good, some bad. 

Still absent from the debate over health care are some common sense, free market solutions that will incentivize employers to offer coverage instead of imposing new surcharges on employers.  Instead of taxing employers why don’t we let them cross state lines to purchase health care for their employees?  Why won’t Congress allow people to carry their health insurance from job to job or keep it if they lose their job?  And, why aren’t we debating the need to expand Health Savings Accounts?  Can you answer any of these questions?  Talk to me………

Terry Neese

Distinguished Fellow

National Center for Policy Analysis

One Response to “No Celebration for this Anniversay”

1. Lisa Dolan Says:
   October 7th, 2009 at 3:25 pm

   I think it is very clear that this “reform” has nothing at all to do with making sure everyone is covered. It has more to do with giving the government another way to collect revenue from small businesses. If the true agenda were getting everyone covered, then expanding on HSA’s would be a top priority. We clearly need health-care reform but what we don’t need is a massive new health-care entitlement. This will only create billions more dollars of unfunded deficits which ultimately will be left for our children and grandchildren. Is that what we want for them? As a small business owner I think that being able to purchase health care across state lines is what is needed. I believe portability is critical. The surtax that small businesses will be saddled with will only result in more layoffs or perhaps worse -like closing up the business. If they kill small business which is what this will do- the unemployment rate will increase dramatically.

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