Last year I read an article about a Michigan based
company and their Obamacare dilemma. An
excise tax on medical equipment would cripple their industry, causing major
layoffs. Here is an excerpt:
"If this tax is implemented in 2013, it will undermine our
industry's ability to create and maintain good jobs in the U.S., and worse,
will lead to higher costs for patients, undercutting one of the primary goals
of health care reform," the head of a major medical device industry trade
group warned
in July
Stryker CEO Stephen MacMillan hinted at such a response to the
Obamacare provision in September. "There is no doubt that we're already
starting to think about actions that offset that additional tax," he said
at a conference, according to MassDevice.com.
""Here we are, one of the greatest industries in the country, and
we're staring down on January 1st, 2013 and the addition of a 2.3 percent excise
tax, while meanwhile on the other side all the discussion in Washington is
about creating jobs," he added.Any reasonable person would’ve thought that the owners of this company would do whatever they could to defeat Barack Obama and his anti-business acolytes; not so. Here is the political activities of the heir to Stryker Corporation:
Jon Stryker is heir to the Stryker Corporation, one of the largest medical device and equipment manufacturers in the world. Stryker’s grandfather was the surgeon who invented the mobile hospital bed. The company now sells $8.3 billion worth of hospital beds, artificial joints, medical cameras, and medical software every year.
Stryker, a member of the Forbes 400 list, was one
of the top five donors to the Obama campaign. Having donated
$2 million to the Priorities USA Action super PAC, Stryker also gave $66,000 in
contributions to Obama and the Democrat Party.
Prior to the 2012 election, Stryker contributed millions to help Democrat
candidates in his home state of Michigan. He also gave nearly $250 million to
groups supporting gay rights, transgenderism, and the conservation of apes. In
January, his Arcus Foundation donated $23 million to Kalamazoo College for an endowment to fund a
center for social justice leadership.
Stryker's corporation is part of an industry that has been a big
loser at the hands of Obamacare. Having refused to get on board with the
White House and the Senate Finance Committee when the law was being crafted in
2009, the medical device industry was punished with an excise tax of 2.3% of
their revenues, regardless of whether they make a profit.
And what was the end result of Mr. Stryker’s generous contributions to Barack Obama, the
Democratic Party and their one issue constituents:
Stryker Corporation has announced
that it will close its facility in Orchard Park, New York, eliminating 96 jobs
next month. It will also counter the medical device tax in Obamacare by
eliminating 5% of their global workforce, an estimated 1,170 positions.
What could be the cause of this derangement? Could it be Blue State Stockholm Syndrome?
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