Empire Elucidated

clipped from www.powerlineblog.com We wrote here about the consequences of Obamacare that are beginning to be felt, even before its provisions are implemented: Caterpillar said Obamacare will cost it an additional $100 million in the first year; Medtronic warned that the new tax on its products "could force it to lay off a thousand workers;" Verizon told its employees that it "will likely have to cut healthcare benefits to offset the new costs;" and AT&T announced that it will record a $1 billion non-cash expense in the first quarter and "will be evaluating prospective changes to the active and retiree health care benefits offered by the company." In my original post, I wondered why these companies had not spoken out sooner, when it could have done some good. I suppose this is the answer: they know how vindictive the Democrats are. The Democrats' reaction would have been even more hostile (and more dangerous to the companies' well-being) if they had dared to blow the whistle on Obamacare before Congress voted.