Building an Economy that Works for Everyone

NFIB doesn’t speak for many small businesses on health care reform

Jody Hall of Cupcake Royale

To hear some pundits describe it, the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is important because of its implications for the presidential election this fall. But for many small business owners, it’s a matter of treating workers fairly and doing right by their community.

Business owners from Florida to Illinois to Colorado say the Affordable Care Act is working now – helping to stabilize their healthcare costs and create healthy workplaces. Main Street Alliance, a nationwide coalition of small business owners, included many provisions of ACA in their plan for making it on Main Street. A recent survey conducted by Small Business Majority found just 1/3 of small business owners actually want the ACA overturned; 50% would rather see it upheld with minor or no changes.

So why would a lobby group like the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), which says it speaks on behalf of small business, be a lead plaintiff in the court case *against* the ACA? After accepting donations from the Republican political action committee Crossroads GPS, it’s a matter of open debate whether the NFIB speaks actually speaks for small businesses:

“…while the NFIB claims its multimillion-dollar lawsuit is on behalf of job creators and small businesses everywhere, it’s unclear whether small businesses genuinely support the NFIB position. A close look at its record suggests that the NFIB uses the politically valuable mantle of small business to pursue an agenda that may take its cues from elsewhere.”

A great number of business owners wholeheartedly support the ACA because they recognize the economic value in extending healthcare coverage to their workers – people like Jody Hall, founder of Seattle’s wildly successful first cupcake bakery, Cupcake Royale.

Last month Jody explained to Congress  exactly why affordable health care and the ACA are important to her as the owner of expanding business here in Washington – now with five locations and 72 employees. As she wrote in The Hill:

“I’ve built my business on the notion that a good business supports a strong local economy and gives back to the community. I’ve also built it on a commitment to treating my workers like family, and that includes offering health care coverage.”

By EOI Intern Ashwin Warrior

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