Senator Kay Hagan Surprised at Obamacare Medical Equip. Excise Tax

Remember when Rep. Nancy Pelosi stood before the American people and said that we need to pass Obamacare to see what’s in it?  Well, she along with a whole slew of Democrats passed this monstrosity without reading it.  And that includes Senator Kay Hagan from North Carolina.  Now, these imbeciles are appalled that an onerous excise tax is about to hit the medical device industry right between the eyes:
 
In a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid, 18 Democrat senators and senators-elect have asked for “a delay in the implementation” of the Obamacare medical device tax. Like most of the significant tax increases in Obamacare, the medical device tax is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2013, conveniently after the 2012 presidential election.

Each of the 18 Democrat signatories voted for or supported Obamacare in the first place. And now they want a sweetheart exemption from one of its most onerous provisions. Even in Washington DC, that shows a lot of gall.

The signatories to the letter are as follows:

Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)

Kay Hagan (D-N.C.)

Al Franken (D-Minn.)

Herb Kohl (D-Wis.)

Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)

John Kerry (D-Mass.)

Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)

Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)

Robert Casey (D-Pa.)

Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)

Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)

Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)

Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)

Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.)

Patty Murray (D-Wash.)

Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)

Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) – (Voted for Obamacare in the House)

 I remember a congressman from the state of Michigan complaining about having to read a bill before voting on it.  Doing your job; what a novel idea.  After all, isn’t that what we are paying these imbeciles to do? 

I have a message for Senator Kay Hagan (Dem –NC).  You’re up for reelection in two more years.  This is not a general election year when the freeloading hordes come to the polls and  automatically push the Dem button for president Santa Claus and his socialist D.C. elves.  This is the time of year when the more thoughtful and informed come out to play.  Goodbye Kay Hagan.  You’re a one term senator, and I do believe you know that.

Source: http://atr.org/dems-delay-obamacare-med-device-tax-a7380#ixzz2EzOCjP79

@taxreformer on Twitter

Blue State Stockholm Syndrome

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?

Source: http://nation.foxnews.com/obamacare/2012/11/14/obama-donors-corporation-lays-employees-due-obamacare#ixzz2CLQgCFzy

http://costonscomplaint.blogspot.com/2011/11/obamacare-reason-for-michigan-companys.html

Obamacare Reason for Michigan Company's Layoffs

A Michigan based company is reducing its workforce by 5% in anticipation of an Obamacare excise tax on medical equipment. Stryker Corporation gave the following explanation for the layoffs:

"The targeted [employee] reductions and other restructuring activities are being initiated to provide efficiencies and realign resources in advance of the new Medical Device Excise Tax scheduled to begin in 2013," Stryker announced in a November 10 press release, "as well as to allow for continued investment in strategic areas and drive growth despite the ongoing challenging economic environment and market slowdown in elective procedures."


Industry executives believe that the 2.3 percent tax will cost $20 billion in revenue over ten years. "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.


How’s that hope and change going for you Michigan?



Source: http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/mich-company-announces-obamacare-layoffs/226066