Ok, then, let’s talk about the waivers in Ms Pelosi’s district. The fact is they are there, they were a significant portion of those granted earlier this year. Further, the Obamacare waivers were never in the original law, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) granted itself the power through administrative rules, sort of like their contraception/sterilization/abortion mandate on religious institutions. Several of the organizations and unions that lobbied HHS to grant itself the power to issue waivers from Obamacare’s annual limit requirements either got waivers themselves or have political connections to companies or groups that did. That includes the owner of the company that applied for the 38 waivers that went to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district.
As for the waivers themselves, first, and most obvious, if they met the Obamacare mandated standards, they wouldn’t need a waiver now would they? To quote Ms Pelosi’s spokesman Nadeam Elshami. "These waivers are reviewed and granted solely by the Administration in an open and transparent process so workers currently enrolled in ‘mini-med’ policies like those in San Francisco and across the country will not be punished and lose the minimum coverage they already have."
But wait, Mr. Obama and Ms Pelosi promised over and over that under Obamacare nobody would lose their coverage and their doctor. So the Mini-meds are allowed to under-insure their employees with a waiver with savings to the bottom line of their employers. But they must be struggling small businesses right? To quote Ms Pelosi during a CNBC interview:
“They’re small. I couldn’t speak to all 1,800 of them (Obamacare waivers), but some of the lists that I have seen have been very, very small companies. They will not have a big impact on the economy of our country,”
True… very small companies and organizations, such as McDonalds and Darden Restaurants here in Orlando (Olive Garden, Red Lobster etc.). In fact entire states have gotten waivers (but only very small ones like Florida, New Jersey, Ohio and Tennessee).
But to focus back on the waiver needy businesses in San Francisco, they include:
Boboquivari’s who advertises $59 porterhouse steaks, $39 filet mignons and $35 crab dinners.
Then, there’s Café des Amis, which describes its eating experience as “a timeless Parisian style brasserie” which is “located on one of San Francisco’s premier shopping and strolling boulevards, Union Street,” according to the restaurant’s Web site. (Where's my beret?)
“Bacchus Management Group, in partnership with Perry Butler, is bringing you that same warm, inviting feeling, with a distinctive San Francisco spin,” the Web site reads. Somehow, though, the San Francisco upper class eatery earned itself a waiver from Obamacare because it apparently cost them too much to meet the law’s requirements.
And my favorites, four-star hotel Campton Place got one too, as did Hotel Nikko San Francisco, which describes itself as “four-diamond luxury in the heart of the city.” Tru Spa, which Allure Magazine rated the “best day spa in San Francisco,” all received Obamacare waivers.
Meanwhile across town, founded in 1907 to care for the orphans of the San Francisco earthquake, Catholic Charities CYO has been a leader in providing human services to the Bay Area for over 100 years. Today, they operate more than 30 programs throughout San Francisco, Marin, and San Mateo Counties. These programs change the lives of children, families in crisis, single parents, the homeless, the elderly and disabled, those living with HIV/AIDS, and refugees and immigrants. Their programs bring youth - of all socioeconomic backgrounds - together to take part in organized athletic programs, summer camp, and environmental education. San Francisco Catholic Charities’ net revenue FY2011 was about $36 million, $31 million of which was distributed in their multiple programs. If this is a “business” they are operating at a huge loss in giving away over 86% of their revenue (is that why they call them non-profits and they get tax breaks?). And while patrons of Boboquivari’s enjoy their steak and fine wine, the Catholic Charities of San Francisco will shut it’s doors before it will fund sterilization, abortion and birth control. Too numerous to mention are other religious based charities from a multiplicity of other faiths. Especially noteworthy is the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties who do great work. No waivers are apparently appropriate for either.
Also being allowed on the waiver train have been other not-so-small entities, such as AARP and countless labor unions. The United Federation of Teachers Welfare Fund, with 351,000 people, was also a waiver recipient. Where do you think most of their political contributions go?
To be more accurate, Ms Pelosi also should have said to CNBC the waivers went to “mostly unionized companies, big donors and of course restaurants I like” instead of “mostly small companies.”
The low point of the recession was January 2009, when 841,000 Americans lost their jobs in just one month. The economy then began to slowly recover over the next 15 months as private employers began hiring workers at an average rate of 67,600 per month. The economy’s high point came with the April 2010 report, when 229,000 jobs were created.
Once Obamacare was forced on us, a hiring freeze began. In the months since it became law, the economy has added an average of only 6,500 jobs per month sliding downward. It causes too much economic uncertainty for employers that don’t have waivers, and the unemployment situation is unlikely to improve much until it’s repealed or profoundly altered.
