Ice cream plant closes its doors over Obamacare

Thursday, October 24, 2013 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: ice cream, business shutdowns, Obamacare

(NaturalNews) There are all kinds of casualties of Obamacare, not the least prominent of which is employment.

There are a number of reasons why the job market remains sluggish - cuts in consumer spending, families saving more, government policies and regulatory burdens - but one of the most potent job killers is one that never had to happen at all: Obamacare.

Yes, that's right, Obamacare is killing jobs, even if the law's defenders in and out of the White House want you to think it's not. Here's just the latest proof.

According to the local Fox network near Michiana, Indiana, a longtime community icon (and employer) is shuttering its operations, thanks to the anticipated high costs imposed by the Affordable Care Act:

Tuesday, FOX28 talked with owners of the Bonnie Doon plant and downtown Mishawaka location. They tell us there are many reasons for the shutdown such as the declining economy and the rise in production costs. But the number one factor? The anticipated cost of the Affordable Care Act.

'Anticipation of Obamacare played a large part in shutdown'

"I've been with the company for 21 years, it was my first job and I started working for them when I was 14," says Adam Carroll, owner of a Bonnie Doon outlet in nearby Lincolnway. He told the local news team that, even though the Bonnie Doon ice cream plant and one downtown location are closing, he plans to stick around.

The closure of the plant merely means he will just have to find a new ice cream supplier. "With the Obamacare it just will affect the businesses too much so that was their main reason for shutting down the ice cream plant at this time," he told Fox28.

The local news team also spoke with the plant's chief financial officer, who confirmed that the "anticipation of the Affordable Care Act played a large part in the shutdown." And that's something that a number of small businesses are now dealing with, according to Kyle Hannon, president of the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce.

"Our businesses have been concerned, kind of wondering 'how much is this going to cost? How is it going to impact us?" he said.

Hannon says that, for now, he doesn't expect big layoffs or shutdowns like that taking place at Bonnie Doon, because most firms are presently making adjustments - which are also affecting employment.

"Companies that were right on the edge of hiring more employees have held back because they don't want to go over that magic 50 employee number," he said.

Under Obamacare, companies with 50 or more employees are being forced to provide health insurance for them or face fines and penalties. Obama, like a king, issued a waiver of this so-called employee mandate for one year, but smart business owners realize that the waiver was issued to get Democrats through the 2014 election year and that, eventually, it will expire, and the full weight of the requirement will be allowed to take effect.

What better job killer could you find than this?

The TV news team also checked in with neighboring St. Joseph County's Chamber of Commerce, where officials there said they had the same concerns about the damage being done by Obamacare.

"We're still coming out of the recession and we're doing very well, but you wonder how much better we could be doing now if people could hire large numbers without worrying about implications," said Hannon.

Carroll is far from 50 employees at his Bonnie Doon shop, but he says he knows that he will also be affected by the impending healthcare changes.

"Everybody's just kind of uncertain about what's going to happen and what it all entails," he said.

This scenario is being repeated all around the country, as businesses choose to close their doors out of realization that they can't afford the mandated premiums, curb hiring because they can't afford to go over the 50-employee threshold or reduce hours of full-time employees to part-time, in order to fall under the 50-employee (full-time) limit.

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